Getting Through It

Getting Through It: After the Fires #14

In this episode, Dr. Jones is joined by Dr. Josh West, Professor of Earth Science and Environmental Studies at USC and one of the lead scientists for the CLEAN Project. They discuss heavy metals in soil after the January 2025 fires, with a focus on lead, how testing standards are used, and why understanding exposure is more complicated than a simple yes-or-no answer. Dr. West also explains how some contaminants come from fire impacts while others may already exist in the soil from past pollution or natural geology.

 

Getting Through It: After the Fires #13

This episode looks at the long-term health impacts from the fires with Dr. David Eisenman, Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Fielding UCLA School of Public Health. He's also the Director of Center for Public Health and Disasters and Co-Director of the Center for Healthy Climate Solutions. 

Getting Through It: After the Fires #12

We welcome back Dr. Harry Allen, Environmental Scientist and on-scene coordinator for EPA Region 9, to give an update since he first joined us (Episode 6). He'll share the latest research and findings as time since the fire has passed. 

Getting Through It: After the Fires #11

Dr. Jones reflects on the tactics those going through recovery can undertake the continue to manage the long process of recovery by incorporating scientific information into decision-making. She shares research-based approaches based on the social science around managing risk.

Getting Through It: After the Fires #10

Joined by Caltech’s Issac Aguilar Rivera, this episode looks what was in the air, fell onto communities, and what still remains. This helps inform how the data is collected and what it means to those impacted. Episode resources:

April 2025 Caltech Science Exchange Webinar

USC Residential Soil Testing

Purdue Community Survey Report 

Purdue After a Wildfire Considerations for Testing Report

Getting Through It: After the Fires #9

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers removed toxic waste and ash from the burn scar in the first few months after the fires. But many people have found they still have high levels of lead in their yards. We talk with Dr. Danielle Stevenson, an environmental toxicologist, about new approaches to removing the lead that don't require digging out all of your soil.

Getting Through It: After the Fires #8

Continuing to look at air quality and its impact, Dr. Qiao Yu of UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health joins to talk about his work with CAPLA and what it means for the safety of returning to areas impacted by the wildfire airborne contaminants.  The findings report can be found here.

Getting Through It: After the Fires #7

Studying atmospheric chemistry at Caltech, Haroula Baliaka joins the podcast to talk about her research into air quality through her work as the lead for the PHOENIX project, which launched in January 2025. She shares what her research found in the burn areas and how it compares to the pollutants that exist in LA from non-fire sources.

Getting Through It: After the Fires #6

What's in the air after a fire, and where those materials go as they settle, can raise questions about human and environmental health. In this episode, we are joined by Environmental Scientist and On-scene coordinator for EPA Region 9, Harry Allen. Harry shares what it means to be "safe" when understanding the impacts of smoke and ash, especially related to lead.

Getting Through It: After the Fires #5

After a wildfire, the impact on the geography of the burnt area undergoes changes due to not only the clearing of vegetation and structures, but also the change that happen due to the extreme heat. These impacts create conditions where debris flows can be especially intense in the months and years following the fire. In this episode, geologist Dr. Michael Lamb, who created and runs the Caltech Earth Surface Dynamics Laboratory, shares what to expect from potential debris flows based on the models he's created in his lab and what we know about the burn areas in Altadena, Malibu, and the Pacific Palisades.