Home Care In Altadena, CA

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LOS ANGELES — At the height of the Los Angeles fires in 2025, millions of residents were exposed in a 24-hour period to toxic lead levels from smoke that were 80 times higher than the typical background level, according to a new study.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology compared the chemical composition of smoke from the Eaton Fire with that of a wildfire and found that the urban plume had more lead, arsenic and halogens (which include chlorine and bromine) linked to burning vehicles, building materials and electronics.

“The main, key finding is really that wildfire smoke is very different fundamentally from the urban smoke,” said Nga Lee “Sally” Ng, an author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. With the new technology they used to measure what was in the smoke, they were able to “actually see the very detailed component of these particles that we are breathing.”

Co-author Haroula Baliaka said understanding the different chemical compositions of smoke from an urban versus a wildland fire helps bridge a missing gap in research. Wildfires are growing larger, more intense, faster-moving and more frequent largely because of drier and warmer weather associated with human-caused climate change. As urban growth and climate change push more fires into cities, researchers said monitoring and emergency response will have to adapt.

Ed Avol, professor emeritus in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California who has researched the health effects of air pollution for decades, said significant exposure to heavy metals is consistent with what he'd expect, “but certainly surprising because we haven’t been able to document this sort of thing.”

“One of the real advantages of this study is that it had the opportunity to make measurements sort of hour-by-hour across the sampling network. And typically we make measurements of airborne particulates and so forth a couple of times a week, at best,” said Avol, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Thousands of structures burned, releasing toxic chemicals

The two wind-whipped infernos in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades that ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures, mostly homes, and everything in them — cars, paint, furniture, chemicals under sinks and more. Millions of people were exposed to smoke, which across the entire United States has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually. A recent study found that metal mixtures in the leftover smoke, ash and debris from the deadly 2023 Maui wildfires were harmful to the lung health of people living nearby long after the burning ended.

During the fires, researchers measured trace elements of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, every hour reported by instruments in the Atmospheric Science and Chemistry mEasurement NeTwork ( ASCENT ), a relatively new network of air quality monitors across the U.S. that measures the size and chemical composition of these particulates in real time. Ng said ASCENT is the U.S.'s first measurement network able to measure the chemical composition of airborne particles in real time.

Researchers were able to see what chemicals were in the smoke, track how its composition changed over the fire's course, and distinguish emissions coming from burning structures. From there, they estimated how many people across Los Angeles were exposed to the heavy metals, particularly lead, during the fire's first days.

They compared the typical value of lead before the fires and the chemical makeup of smoke from a 2024 fire in Riverside County that burned mostly vegetation with data from the Eaton Fire plume. Contrasted with the wildfire smoke, the plume from the LA fire contained 50 times more lead, three times more arsenic, and seven times more halogens. At the peak of burning, about 7 million people were exposed for 24 hours to lead levels more than 80 times what's typical.

Lead is a neurotoxin that can stunt children’s development, lower IQ scores and increase blood pressure in adults. Scientists still don’t know how short-term, high exposure to lead impacts human health. Arsenic exposure is associated with various cancers.

Yaguang Wei, assistant professor in the department of environmental medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who researches the health impacts of air pollution, wildfire smoke and severe weather, said their findings reinforced some conclusions of a recent study he co-authored that found, in part, that PM2.5 from wildfire smoke was more toxic than particulates from other sources.

“I think their findings are not surprising,” said Wei, who was not involved in the study. When fires burn properties, they're also burning “a lot of lead on your wall paint and the plastics and electronics and those are very toxic” when they burn, he said.

Monitoring, policies and emergency response need to adapt, experts say

Wei said the study has “important policy implications.” He thinks governments should take stronger actions to protect public health during these fires by investing in more wildfire monitoring and public alerts, and having more prescribed fires.

For Avol, the study is a reminder of our “strange and increasingly dangerous new world” where urban and wildland intersect — and increasingly catch fire.

“It reminds us to be cautious and be concerned and, you know, think about what we can do to minimize this. We’re not going to stop using all these materials containing metals and halogens and so forth in our homes,” he said. “How do we protect people from being exposed to that?”

In January 2025, the Eaton Fire swept through the Altadena community, leaving billions of dollars in damage and becoming the second most destructive wildfire in California history. Along with the nearby Palisades Fire, the blazes destroyed 9,400 structures and displaced more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County.

For a community already struggling with affordability, rebuilding equitably is challenging as many formerly affordable homes may rent at market rate without intervention. Altadena has long been a cradle for Black homeowners, and the fire severely damaged nearly half of Black-owned homes in the community. Beacon Housing, an Altadena non-profit organization focused on real estate, has served as an important player to bring community members back home, regardless of income level.

This year, Beacon Housing was one of several grantees receiving HUD Section 4 funding from Enterprise Community Partners in Southern California to advance wildfire recovery work. With support from the grant, Beacon Housing is transitioning from short-term emergency response to long-term rebuilding by conducting site assessments in the fire impact area, providing predevelopment oversight, and formalizing its operations.

“We knew that Altadena already had an affordability crisis, and losing thousands of homes would only exacerbate it,” said Palin Ngaotheppitak, Beacon Housing’s executive director. “We were thinking about the low-income renters, informal renters, and multigenerational households who were paying significantly below market. How could we build back in a way that keeps units affordable?”

Ngaotheppitak spoke with us about Beacon Housing’s vision for a more equitable, resilient Altadena.

How did Beacon Housing start and how has its approach evolved over time?

Beacon was founded 30 years ago by two brothers — both real estate developers — who were challenged by their faith community to give back. They wanted to create a continuum from homelessness to home ownership. As the market, property acquisition, and funding availability have changed, along with the urgency to rebuild following wildfires, we have focused on being more strategic around deploying resources and collaboration.

One example of our partnership model is how we operate our transitional housing property, Casa de Alegria. We partner with Door of Hope, which runs the programming and fundraises while we provide and manage the property like a landlord, but without charging rent. We also master-lease to organizations whose clients can't qualify on their own. These organizations often lack the experience to secure a master lease themselves — but we see that need, so we plug in and are flexible with solutions.

What have Beacon Housing’s Eaton Fire recovery efforts looked like?

We are a hyperlocal organization, with our rental properties located in Pasadena and the surrounding areas, so the fire happened right in our backyard. We pivoted fast, expanding our Helping Hand grant from Covid as an emergency cash grant for fire survivors. We leveraged a $10,000 seed grant from our funders into $150,000 in donations, which we gave away to low-income households.

From a longer-term perspective, Altadena already had an affordability crisis, and losing 7,000 homes would only exacerbate it — especially for low-income renters, informal renters, and multigenerational households who were paying significantly below market, with many rental units likely being naturally occurring affordable housing.

Our focus in the fire recovery efforts has been to help people who were stably housed and paying significantly below market rent before the fire find a way to stay in the community. For many, especially low-income and long-term renters, there simply were no comparable units that they could access in the market. We have been working to change that.

It's been a collaborative effort. Altadena Builds Back Foundation (ABBF), a supporting organization of the Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF), in partnership with Molly Munger and Steve English, granted us $5.8 million. This allowed us to purchase and rebuild a destroyed 14-unit bungalow court and restrict the property for the next 55 years as affordable housing so the change lasts generationally.

Another long-time partner, YMCA of the Foothills, helped us pilot layering in rental assistance of up to $500 per month for at least two years onto 3 new units we built for fire survivors. Rental assistance works especially for our units because our rent is already below market ,and we place less emphasis on barriers like credit score or rental history. With the layered in subsidy, our studios now rent for $700 a month and one-bedrooms for $850 for the next two years.

Another way we have been working in partnership with other organizations is through the Eaton Fire Collaborative. For example, to build the case for more funding and create interventions making affordability happen, we worked with Eaton Fire Collaborative’s Housing Committee on a survey to better understand the housing needs of both homeowners and renters, comparing pre- and post-fire rents.

What common barriers do residents face right now, 18 months after the fire?

The barriers aren’t the same for everyone. That’s one of the hardest parts: we have a diverse community, so we need multifaceted solutions, not one fix.

Among our low-income renters, we’re seeing two main groups. The first are households who may be a bit below our income eligibility, but likely only temporarily. We try not to enforce that line too rigidly, instead looking at layering in support, like our light rental subsidies spread over a longer period. We believe many of these households can reach long-term housing stability if they’re given enough time.

The second group includes seniors and others living on fixed incomes. Last year, we got a call from Patricia, a senior displaced by the Eaton Fire. She had moved seven times and was living in an Airbnb with Salvation Army assistance, but didn’t know when that support would end. Her Social Security check was barely enough to cover our least expensive unit.

Patricia inspired us to create our rental subsidy program. Today, she lives in one of three ADUs we completed with PCF’s support, with a subsidy that brings her rent portion to an affordable level for her. We've committed to keeping the three ADUs rent at the same level with or without subsidy, but that is not sustainable with every unit. There is a real need for an ongoing subsidy, like a HUD Section 8 voucher, to remain in the community long-term.

So we need both rental assistance that bridges people back to self-sufficiency, and long-term interventions for those who will continue to need support. We also need community acquisition funds that keep housing permanently affordable. The throughline is simple: housing comes first. Nothing else stabilizes until that’s solved.

How will HUD Section 4 funding address Beacon Housing’s gaps? Why is investing in a standardized pre-developed process so valuable for organization and for long-term community recovery?

We always need more cash, but we need human resources too. My tiny but mighty team has been running nonstop for a year and a half, expanding rapidly because we were one of the few local housing provider organizations and we needed to meet the moment. We have made amazing things happen, but we also know that we need to build out our capacity in a sustainable way.

This funding supports a new point of contact for assessing new acquisitions. It's part of systematizing our work. Right now, we are just making things happen, but we recognize the need to systematize processes and procedures to ensure sustainability. Creating a handbook for Beacon Housing's assessment of acquisition is institutional knowledge that we need to pass down and help other organizations build their own.

What is Beacon Housing’s vision for community rebuilding?

Our vision is to ensure that people still struggling to regain housing stability, especially low-income renters stably housed in Altadena before the fire, have a feasible path back. For us, that means focusing on properties where we can restore pre-fire density or add modest, gentle density that fits the surrounding neighborhood. These may be small projects, one property at a time, but together they can preserve an important part of Altadena’s rental housing stock.

It also means keeping these properties off the speculative market. Once a property is rebuilt at market rate, it becomes extremely difficult to make those units affordable again. For residents earning below 50% of area median income, we also need deeply subsidized development capital like grants, very low-interest permanent loans, and other patient, long-term financing that allows community-based organizations to acquire, renovate, and build housing without carrying costs that require market-rate rents. We can keep rents at our bungalow court truly affordable because the project was 100% grant funded.

How do you see this investment serving Altadena and as a model for other communities recovering from disasters?

I hope in five to 10 years, we as a community will have created a model for housing recovery that is more equitable and inclusive. Seeing community land trusts and organizations, like Greenline Housing Foundation, participate at the forefront of building back is so important because it shows what collaborative recovery looks like. The relationships we’re building will outlive us. We have in Altadena different organizations working in concert to address all the different groups that may be left behind. I also hope that after future disasters, low-income renters can be at the table from the very beginning.

What does this work mean for you personally?

The work has been very healing. I’m an Altadena resident, still displaced, fighting insurance like a second job. The last year has been hard for my family.

Seeing all the ways other organizations have worked to help has been really lifegiving. I've been doing nonprofit work for a long time, and I have been heartened by how funders have engaged with the community here. I cannot say enough about organizations like PCF, ABBF, and Enterprise, that are here on the ground talking to people every day. That has changed the way that I will look at philanthropic relationships forever.

ALTADENA, CA — Smoke from the devastating Eaton Fire exposed nearly 7 million Los Angeles-area residents to airborne lead concentrations about 80 times higher than normal during a 24-hour period, according to a new Caltech study.

The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, reveal the extent of toxic pollution released when thousands of homes, vehicles and other structures burned in the January 2025 fire.

Researchers found that smoke from the Eaton Fire contained more than 50 times as much lead as smoke from a typical wildfire. It also contained seven times as much chlorine and bromine and three times as much arsenic.

The findings suggest that fires burning through populated urban neighborhoods pose different air pollution hazards than wildfires fueled primarily by plants, potentially exposing millions of people far beyond the fire zone to dangerous chemicals, researchers said.

The Caltech study focused on the Eaton Fire and separate ongoing research suggests residents near the Palisades Fire may face similar concerns about toxic pollution.

"With over 16,000 structures destroyed, the LA Fires released highly toxic pollutants, posing persistent exposure risks to affected communities," researchers for that study wrote.

UCLA researchers monitoring air quality in households near both fire zones found that certain toxic chemicals remained more concentrated indoors than outdoors after the fires, suggesting that contaminated building materials may continue releasing pollutants long after the flames are extinguished.

"Urban fire plumes are chemically distinct from those of wildfires. Now that we have these observational data about how they differ, we can go back and adjust our models to more accurately estimate how smoke might affect people," said Haroula Baliaka, the study's lead author and a Caltech researcher. "Smoke travels; it's not just about the burn area. What does a plume mean for people who are miles away from a fire but receive the smoke? We evacuate for fire, but we don't evacuate for smoke exposure."

Scientists were able to track the chemical composition of the Eaton Fire's smoke using an advanced air-monitoring station in Pico Rivera, about 11 miles south of Altadena.

Unlike traditional air-quality monitoring systems that collect samples periodically, the station continuously measures the chemical makeup of airborne particles, allowing researchers to track changes in pollution as the fire progressed.

The researchers compared the Eaton Fire's smoke with emissions from the Airport Fire, which burned about 24,000 acres of vegetation in Orange and Riverside counties in September 2024.

The differences were stark.

Lead concentrations spiked across eastern Los Angeles County and the San Gabriel Valley on Jan. 8 and 9, when the Eaton Fire was burning through residential neighborhoods. The highest concentrations were measured directly downwind of Altadena.

As the fire moved into the San Gabriel Mountains and began burning primarily vegetation, the smoke's chemical composition shifted toward that of a typical wildfire, researchers said.

Contrasted with the Airport Fire smoke, the plume from the Eaton Fire contained 50 times more lead, three times more arsenic, and seven times more halogens. At the peak of burning, about 7 million people were exposed for 24 hours to lead levels more than 80 times what's typical, researchers found.

Lead is a neurotoxin that can stunt children’s development, lower IQ scores and increase blood pressure in adults. Scientists still don’t know how short-term, high exposure to lead impacts human health. Arsenic exposure is associated with various cancers.

However, scientists said the health consequences of brief exposure to unusually high concentrations of these pollutants remain unclear.

"Unfortunately, Californians get exposed to fires all the time," Baliaka said. "What do all of these short-term but elevated air toxins, not just lead, mean for our health? We need to start figuring that out."

Ed Avol, a professor emeritus at USC's Keck School of Medicine who was not involved in the research, told The Associated Press that elevated heavy-metal exposure was consistent with what scientists would expect from burning buildings, but that the findings were significant because researchers previously lacked the ability to document such exposure in detail.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act into law, protecting the area destroyed by the Eaton Fire from investors and developers, according to the bill's author.

SB 1090, authored by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena), is intended to protect Altadena from real estate speculators as the community is still rebuilding.

The bill temporarily blocks certain housing density laws, including SB 1123, which streamlines the construction of multi-unit housing on lots under five acres zoned for multifamily residential use. The moratorium affects development applications submitted between Oct. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2030.

"By creating a 3-year moratorium on SB 1123, Eaton Fire survivors will have the time they need to rebuild without the undue influence of real estate speculators, while preserving their own ability to build ADUs or split lots in a manner that preserves Altadena's unique character," Pérez wrote in a statement.

In a Sept. 30, 2026, signed letter, Newsom said that the unusual circumstances of the Eaton Fire called for a temporary adjustment to building laws in two Altadena zip codes.

"California's housing streamlining laws remain essential to addressing our statewide housing shortage and providing property owners with more options to build and rebuild," Newsom wrote.

"While extraordinary recovery challenges may warrant targeted adjustments, such measures should be carefully considered, narrowly tailored, and responsive to demonstrated local conditions."

Earlier this summer, a group of Altadena community members advocated for protection from overdevelopment.

"Today we stand together because our town needs to be built back in a reasonable way that has us continue to take on our fair share of density increase and affordable housing, while protecting us from outsiders looking to take advantage of our current vulnerable state," Nic Arnzen, Chair of the Altadena Town Council, said earlier.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton rallied supporters in the Los Angeles area Wednesday with the election just days away — as his Dem frontrunner rival skipped public events.

Hilton had two scheduled appearances Wednesday in Southern California, holding a press conference in fire-ravaged Altadena alongside HPP Cares, a nonprofit community group that has helped families navigate life after the devastating Eaton Fire last year.

Hilton’s schedule also included plans to rally with Democratic and Independent supporters in Van Nuys, arguing that 16 years of one-party rule in California have only spiked costs for average residents Wednesday night.

The former Fox News host has courted Democratic voters in the past few weeks, launching a provocative, six-figure advertising blitz that, in one instance, teased a lesbian sexual encounter with the slogan: “Just try it, California.”

Becerra had no public events Wednesday. He made the rounds in the Bay Area Tuesday, attending a morning meeting with Asian American bigwigs and an anti-Prop. 39 rally in San Francisco. He then crossed the Bay for a reception with black community leaders and SEIU Local 2015 phonebanking event in Oakland.

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Newly released polls show the former Health and Human Services secretary leading Hilton by a wide margin.

A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday showed Becerra commanding 61% of likely voters compared to Hilton’s at 37% — a 24-point margin. The poll of 1,068 likely voters.was conducted Oct. 16–22.

That was a jump compared to a 22-point lead Becerra held in the institute’s poll back in September, when Becerra led 60% to Hilton’s 38%.

Becerra, a longtime Democratic poll who was a California congressman and attorney general before joining President Joe Biden’s administration, has attacked Hilton’s endorsement by President Donald Trump and characterized himself as a fighter against the federal administration.

Hilton, a former Fox News host, has knocked Becerra as the embodiment of a failed California status quo.

At a campaign event Tuesday in Newport Beach, Hilton called out waste in California’s “Broadband-for-All” program, which was launched in 2021 with $3.25 billion in federal COVID relief but has thus far produced only one completed project, according to his campaign.

That is only one of many such failures in California government, Hilton has argued.