A simple question: Mayor Karen Bass and Fire Chief Jaime Moore, would you move to Boyle Heights with your families under the current environmental conditions?
I ask because of statements made during recent press conferences. Bass said, “The air is bad, but not to the extent that it requires a mandatory evacuation.” Moore added, “There is nothing in the air that is so dangerous that we have to do evacuations or even shelter in place.”
Both comments have been challenged by Boyle Heights residents and public health experts, who describe the environmental conditions as unsustainable and accuse city officials of minimizing the potentially irreversible health impacts on people living in the affected area.
“There’s no safe level of exposure to particle pollution,” said Will Barrett, Assistant Vice President for Nationwide Clean Air Policy at the American Lung Association, speaking to The Times.
Soot can be deadly. These microscopic charred particles can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream, causing inflammation and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
And this exposure has now lasted nearly a week and continues.
For almost a week, tens of thousands of residents across southeast Los Angeles County have been living under a thick blanket of smoke as a fire continues to burn through a massive refrigerated warehouse in Boyle Heights. Toxic air has periodically spread across the San Gabriel Valley and neighboring communities, with shifting winds carrying the smoke plume in different directions.
People have not been exposed for just a few hours. They have been breathing polluted air for days in Boyle Heights, unincorporated East Los Angeles, Maywood, Montebello, and Bell, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“There are some pollutants where just breathing in a little bit of it can cause serious health problems,” said Dr. Afif El Hasan, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente. He said he is most concerned about fine particles, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and chemical gases released from burned insulation, plastics, and paint.
“Those chemicals can cause lung irritation, long term lung damage, and in some cases even cancer,” he said. “I also worry about children because they breathe more air relative to their body size than adults and tend to be more physically active.”
“People also need to remember that even if you are healthy, these chemicals can put you at risk. It’s not just vulnerable populations. Anyone can be affected,” The Times reported.
Despite these warnings, local authorities have continued to downplay the seriousness of the incident.
“Are they health experts?” one resident asked.
Medical professionals continue to emphasize the heightened vulnerability of children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with respiratory conditions, all of whom may suffer severe consequences from prolonged exposure to toxic smoke.
“The longer the exposure time, the greater the dose you receive and the more chemicals you may inhale. That increases the potential risk,” one expert explained.
Homes Need Fresh Air, Not Just Air Filters
A fire of this magnitude can leave residents with no good options. They can remain indoors with an air filter if they have one, but homes still require fresh air, and a major fire can make that impossible.
For this reason, some observers believe the official response to the Lineage Logistics fire has been inadequate. Jane Williams, Executive Director of California Communities Against Toxics, is among several advocates who criticized the Los Angeles Fire Department and city officials for downplaying the health risks associated with prolonged smoke exposure and ultimately deciding against broader evacuations.
They argue that many more residents should have been evacuated.
“They always under warn, they under evacuate, and they bring people back too quickly,” Williams said. “I understand there is a societal desire to return to normalcy.”
