Basic Personal Safety Recommendations

If you were/are near the fires in LA and were exposed to smoke and ash, then some or all of these things may apply to you. This is not intended for those whose property was directly impacted by a fire, although some information may still be helpful.

These recommendations are an attempt to distill information from past urban wildfire events about precautions you can take to reduce harm. Please follow official recommendations and guidelines as they are announced, keeping in mind that official sources sometimes do not have complete information to offer. Breaking these guidelines can complicate FEMA aid.

Please understand that many of the hazards cannot be accurately assessed or understood at this time - use discernment and exercise the highest degree of caution possible until you have more detailed information. Do not interact with ash unless you absolutely must. Exposure to ash from burned buildings will have negative health outcomes - while it may be unavoidable in some situations it’s in your best interest to limit exposure as much as possible.

Mask Outside at All Times! - Despite what you might see in terms of the air quality index (AQI), dust and ash are everywhere, as they are effortlessly made airborne by wind, cars, and even bikes or foot traffic. On top of this, many chemicals released from burning buildings are too small to be detected by typical AQI equipment, such as elevated, toxic levels of lead, arsenic, and asbestos. These harmful particulates are expected to be present in the LA area in dangerous levels for quite some time. See Outdoor Areas below if interacting with ash.

No Shoes Inside - This is an easy way to decrease exposure to all the toxicity floating around outside right now. Make a little zone at the front door where shoes go and do your best to remember to use it! It’s also best to wash all welcome mats you may have.

Cover Hair - Hair is a great place for ash to hide, and from there it can get on your pillow and other places in your house. Hats and hair covers are a simple way to keep ash out of your hair.

Keep Windows Closed - Tape around the edges of your windows to prevent particles from coming in.

Air Filtration - Get an air filter and turn it on high or make your own.

Outdoor clothes/Wash your clothes - It’s best to take off outer layers you’ve worn outside to keep from bringing toxic particles into your home. Especially if you’ve been in a contaminated environment, take off your clothes near your door, and store in a sealed plastic bag. Wash these clothes alone to avoid contaminating other clothes, consider an extra rinse cycle. If you’ve working been in a very dusty environment or exposed to lots of ash, consider disposing of them. Some particles like asbestos are hard to wash out.

Shower Protocol - Shower after being outside and especially if you’ve been in direct contact with ash. Keep the shower cold so your pores don’t open up. After this most should be rinsed off and you should be okay to make the water hot.

(Maybe) Turn Off Your HVAC - It might be chilly, but unless you know for certain that your HVAC system recirculates the air from inside your dwelling and doesn’t pull air from outside (which is common for many newer units), then it’s probably best to leave the air off and rely on space heaters. Older gas heaters and radiators are not an issue.

Don’t Drink the Tap Water or Use it for Cooking - If you're directly in a disaster zone and potentially if you are next to one, it is advised to not use tap water for anything at all, including drinking, cooking, showering, flushing the toilet, or washing anything. For those in the surrounding areas it's much less clear, but historically, municipal safety announcements sometimes come later than they should. Be safe and stick to bottled water if you are able. If water smells unusual, appears discolored, or leaves a residue, do not use it for any purpose, including washing.

For more info on this please refer to: https://waterforla.lacounty.gov/water-alerts/

Vehicles - If you live in LA, you likely use your car pretty often. Get your car washed immediately! Take it to an automatic washer so you have as limited contact with it as possible. When driving, keep the air off, or make sure it’s set to “recirculate”. Get your filters changed to HEPA if you can.

Outdoor Areas - There is no completely safe way of cleaning off the ash and dust from your outdoor objects without using expensive equipment. Wait until well resourced emergency services from FEMA, the EPA, or other governmentally coordinated response bodies can provide their services before entering any burn zones. They have many more resources at their disposal to deal with hazardous materials.

If you are interacting with ash, a pair of protective gloves (heavy duty nitrile or neoprene, ideally), a respirator* that has the words “NIOSH” and ideally “P100” printed on it (P95 and N95s are protective but don’t protect from asbestos), goggles, long sleeves, pants, closed-toed shoes and a spray bottle with water and dish soap can reduce risk of inhaling toxic particles. Tyvek coveralls can keep dust off your clothes.

Spraying a constant mist of soapy water can keep dust suppressed and clean surfaces. (WARNING: mixing water with wood ash can create lye, which is highly caustic and can cause burns. Including dish soap makes this less likely while helping to remove more contaminants.)

*Respirators seal better than masks. They are regulated by NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which tests them for their efficacy in filtering particles. Make sure NIOSH and N95, P95, or P100 are printed on the filter.

**Filters can lose effectiveness after repeated use and need to be changed!!** A pink filter (the most common) on a respirator typically indicates a P100 particulate filter, which filters 99.97% of airborne particles, including fine ash. It is mostly effective for ash cleanup but does not protect against gases or vapors (like those from burned materials or chemicals). For protection from gases, use Multi-gas or OV/AG filters (stands for Organic Vapor/Acid Gas). These cartridges are designed to filter out hazardous organic vapors (e.g., solvents, fumes) and acid gases (e.g., chlorine or sulfur dioxide). Multi-gas cartridges provide protection against a broader range of chemical hazards. Such cartridges are often color-coded (e.g., black for OV, yellow for OV/AG).

Do not use a pressure washer, which will generate dust before it wets things down.

Dispose of rags or paper towels used for cleaning in a plastic waste bag! To be safe, any clothes used while cleaning should be placed in a plastic garbage bag before bringing them inside and washed separately from other clothes after.

Another safe way ash can be cleared is by using a wet/dry vacuum or shop vac with a HEPA-level filter bags attached inside**. Do not attempt to vacuum without a proper filter bag!

Avoid doing activities that stir up ash. Do not allow children to play in ash or be in an area where ash-covered materials are being disturbed. Wash ash off toys before children play with them. Carefully wipe ash off pets.

For ground surfaces use a HEPA filtered vacuum or lightly mist with lightly soapy water and gently sweep into a dustpan. Keep the mist going as you sweep. Thoroughly clean brooms and other cleaning tools after.

It is not yet known how contaminated the soil will be from ash in different areas, as this information will take time to develop. We know cleanup efforts have already started and will continue to happen as people return to their homes.

DO NOT try to clean up ash if it is still falling.

DO NOT under any circumstances use a leaf blower to blow ash off your driveway, or anywhere else. This creates a hazard for yourself and everyone around you.

If you have symptoms that may be related to exposure to smoke or soot, consult your doctor.

This document prepared by @resiliencealliance: A collective research and education effort forming in response to LA Firestorm Catastrophes, focused on interspecies community health, bioremediation, and long term ecological resilience.- have questions? Get in touch on instagram. (other ways of connecting coming soon)

**If you decide to run HVAC, put in a MERV13 filter which is not the same as HEPA but still good quality and helps address smoke particles and other smaller toxins. MERV 13 filters trap at least 85% of particles sized 1.0 micron and larger, and at least 50% of particles in the 0.3 – 1.0 micron range. HEPA filters capture 99% or better of particles sized 1.0 micron and larger, and 99.97% of particles in the 0.3 – 1.0 micron range.