LOS ANGELES - While containment on the Eaton and Palisades fires continue to grow, forecasters with South Coast AQMD say ‘hazardous ash’ may still be present in the air. The air quality for Wednesday, Jan. 22 is in the good to moderate range for most of Southern California, which includes the coast, LA, OC, and Inland Empire. According to South Coast AQMD, the air quality index is calculated based on common air pollutants including particulate matter, ozone (smog), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. They say it does not account for other pollutants that may also cause unhealthy air quality at times.

Smoke from wildfire poses a host of health concerns, but when fires burn through urban areas, like the ongoing inferno in Los Angeles, U.S., the health risks increase dramatically. “This is an entirely different situation because the wildfire smoke is bad enough, but when synthetic materials burn, they’re going to give off more toxics, not only in the air, but also in the ash where the burned-down structures remain,” Judith Enck, a former regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and founder of NGO Beyond Plastics, told Mongabay by phone. According to the EPA, at least 85,000 different synthetic chemicals are used daily in common household products including clothing, packaging, carpets, computers and paint.

Measuring the aftereffects of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires has just begun, and results show that the city’s air quality has been drastically lowered to toxic levels. With the burning of both the Pacific Palisades and most of Altadena (a town just north of Pasadena), over 15,000 structures went up in smoke, sending plumes of toxic ash into the air that included lead, asbestos, and many other chemicals. According to the New York Times, the neurotoxin lead reached 100 times “average levels even miles from the flames,” while levels of chlorine reached 40 times the average: The spiking levels underscore the added danger from wildfires when cars, homes, and other structures burn, researchers said. Lead is often present in paint and pipes used in older homes, while chlorine and other chemicals are generated when plastic melts or combusts.

Airborne Lead and Chlorine Levels Soared as L.A. Wildfires Raged. Lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average.

Windblown ash from wildfires could pose health risks across Southern California this week. Here's what you need to know.