Kelly Ferrone wiped the blinds and window frames inside her daughter’s elementary school, just a half-mile from the devastating Palisade fire that is scorching the coastal enclave of Los Angeles. Cotton swabs and wipes turned black.
There is ash and soot scattered on her feet. Outside is on the ground next to the playground.
Ferrone, who recorded the video and shared it with The Associated Press, wanted to see for himself this week whether Canyon Charter Elementary School was properly cleaned before school reopened. She was not impressed.
Weeks after the Los Angeles area’s deadliest fire, parents are grappling with the reality that toxic ash from burned homes and cars could be harmful to their children. It’s a risk that’s becoming more common as wildfires burn in cities.
At Pacific Palisades, Canyon Charters was able to reopen on Monday. School officials say staff are working hard to ensure schools are clean, safe and confident in their decisions. However, some parents feel schools are being rushed open. They are urging officials to temporarily relocate while others will try to transfer students elsewhere.
“(Los Angeles Unified School District) has never experienced a disaster like this in its history,” said Ferrone, who has two daughters at the school. One person has asthma. ” We need a new temporary home for classrooms and teachers to teach in person. That’s the only thing that makes people feel comfortable. ”
In a statement, Lausd said staff “worked diligently to prepare the school for a return to in-person instruction.” This includes inspecting ventilation systems, replacing filters, installing air purifiers in classrooms and offices, and cleaning inside and outside. Environmental consultants are inspecting the campus. Staff will monitor air quality. The district has an Office of Environmental Safety and Health and is following its protocols.
Some schools are under a “do not drink the water” advisory, including Canyon Charter. That means fountains will be turned off and bottled water will be provided, the district said.
Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, said schools are taking all the right steps. Still, she said, “There’s no zero risk.”
President Donald Trump arrived in Los Angeles on Friday to meet with affected and local and state leaders. Robert Kovacik reports NBC4 News reports Jan. 24, 2025 at 11 p.m.
Ash is a toxic soup of incineration vehicles, electronics, batteries, building materials, paint, furniture, and all other types of personal belongings. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastic, and lead, all of which are more vulnerable.
“Children often have more hand-to-mouth behavior and their bodies are growing rapidly in these first years, so they can be more susceptible to this type of contamination,” Patel said. Come to it from an exposure perspective. ”
Some materials form reactive compounds when burned.
Scientists still don’t know the long-term health effects of exposure to large urban fires like those in California this year and Maui, Hawaii in 2023. Lahaina’s three schools did not reopen for the next two months. However, some chemicals have been linked to heart disease and lung problems, while exposure to minerals like magnetite, which is formed when burning iron, has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
In Pasadena, Emily Stouff is trying to minimize the risk for 11- and 14-year-olds who returned to Blair High School, which includes middle school, this week. She made sure they took off their masks. In an email to parents last week, the Pasadena Unified School District said about 38 tons of outdoor debris had been transported away from campus and would only open “after rigorous cleaning and disinfection and after environmental testing.” .
Stoff said she trusts the district to do its due diligence, but she wants more information.
“Did they test the air quality? Did they test the ash samples? Is the ash samples from inside the school, in the hallways, outside the school?” she wonders. I want to see it. I would like to know that the cleaning has been done. ”
Cleanup crews are having trouble clearing the huge amount of debris surrounding the recently torched Sothal community. This video aired on NBCLA at 6:30 a.m.
PUSD did not respond to questions from the AP.
Patel said it’s difficult to know how long these fire toxins will remain in the environment, but it could be several months. Strong winds like those in Santa Ana can also blow the distance that they can get into the soil and groundwater.
Plastic, in particular, can last a long time, said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Altamed’s medical officer of health and a fellow at the American Academy of Pediatrics. “And we have to remember that fires are still happening. As communities recover and clean up, that ash will be moved again,” he said.
Pasadena’s Longfellow Elementary School is scheduled to reopen next week, but Tanya Reyes doesn’t plan on sending her child back just yet. The school is about two miles from where the Eaton Fire burned a rented home. Even with school safety measures, “my gut is saying no,” she said. “They shouldn’t be around that area. It’s too early.”
Her family is staying in West Hollywood and she is looking for a school somewhere her children can attend for a while. She is also considering homeschooling, but is still figuring it all out.
It is difficult for parents, because they understand all the ways in which their child needs school.
“We’ve experienced this in so many different ways, whether it’s wildfire smoke or the pandemic,” Patel said. “When children miss school, it is also detrimental to their health. It affects their learning, affects their socio-emotional development, their connectedness and sense of community in times of crisis. .”
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