As schools in LA reopen, parents worry about harmful ash from wildfires

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kelli Ferrone wiped blinds and window sills inside her daughters’ elementary school, just a half mile from the devastating Palisades Fire that scorched the coastal enclave in Los Angeles. The cotton swabs and wipes came up black.

There is scattered ash and soot at her feet. Outside, it's on the ground next to a playground.

Ferrone, who recorded videos and shared them with The Associated Press, wanted to see for herself this week if Canyon Charter Elementary School had been adequately cleaned before the school reopens. She wasn't impressed.

Weeks after the most intense days of fire across the Los Angeles area, parents are grappling with the reality that toxic ash from burned homes and cars could be harmful to their children. It's a risk that is becoming more common as wildfires burn in cities.

In the Pacific Palisades, Canyon Charter could reopen as soon as Monday. School officials say staff are working hard to make sure schools are clean and safe and they're confident in their decision. But some parents feel the school is rushing to open. They're urging officials to temporarily relocate, while others try to transfer their students elsewhere.

“The (Los Angeles Unified School District) has never experienced a disaster like this in their history," said Ferrone, who has two daughters at the school, one with asthma. "And I do think people are trying really hard, but our school needs a new temporary home with classrooms and teachers teaching in-person. That is the only thing that is going to make people feel comfortable.”

In a statement, LAUSD said staff “has worked diligently to prepare schools for a return to in-person instruction.” That includes inspecting ventilation systems, replacing filters and installing air purifiers in classrooms and offices, and cleaning inside and outdoors. An environmental consultant is inspecting campuses. Staff monitors air quality. The district has an Office of Environmental Health and Safety and is following its protocols.

Some schools are within a “do not drink water” advisory, including Canyon Charter. That means fountains are turned off and bottled water is provided, the district said.

Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, said the school is taking all the right steps. Yet, she said, “there’s no zero risk."

The ash is a toxic soup of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and every other kind of personal belonging. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead, all of which children are more vulnerable to.

“Children often have more hand-to-mouth behavior and their bodies are rapidly growing in these first few years, and so they can be more sensitive to this type of pollution," said Patel. "There will be a risk for a while to come in terms of exposure.”

Some materials form reactive chemical compounds when they burn.

Scientists still don't know the long-term health impacts of exposure to massive urban fire like this year's in California or the one in Maui, Hawaii in 2023. Three schools in Lahaina didn't reopen for two months after that. But some chemicals have been linked to heart disease and lung issues, while exposure to minerals like magnetite, which can form when fire burns iron, has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

In Pasadena, Emily Stough is trying to minimize the risks for her 11- and 14-year-old who returned to Blair High School, which includes a middle school, this week. She made sure they took masks. In an email to parents last week, the Pasadena Unified School District said some 38 tons of outdoor debris have been hauled away from campuses, and they will only open “after rigorous cleaning and sanitizing and environmental tests."

Stough said she trusts the district to do its due diligence, but she wants more information.

“Did they test air quality? Did they test ash samples? Were the ash samples from inside the school, in the hallways, from outside the schools?," she wonders. "Air quality both inside and outside the schools? I’d like to see that. I’d like to know what cleaning was done.”

The PUSD did not respond to questions from the AP.

It’s hard to know how long these fire toxins will stay in the environment, said Patel, but it could be a few months. Strong winds like the Santa Anas could also blow them distances where they could enter soil and groundwater.

Plastics in particular could last a long time, said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, medical affairs officer for AltaMed and a fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics. “And we need to remember that the fires are still going. That we still have burn materials coming out." As communities recover and clean up, that ash will be moved again, he said.

Longfellow Elementary School in Pasadena is set to reopen next week, but Tanya Reyes doesn’t plan to send her kids back just yet. The school is about two miles from where the Eaton Fire burned down the home they rented. Even with the school's safety measures, “my gut is saying ‘no,’” she said. “They shouldn’t be around that area. It’s too soon.”

Her family is staying in West Hollywood, and she’s looking for schools there, somewhere the kids can attend for a little while. She's considering home schooling, too, but still figuring it all out.

It's hard for parents because they understand all the ways kids need school.

“We’ve been through this in so many different ways, whether it’s been wildfire smoke or the pandemic,” Patel said. “When kids miss school, that is also a detriment to their health. It impacts their learning, it impacts their socioemotional development, their sense of connection and community during a time of crisis."

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AP reporter Melina Walling in Chicago contributed to this report.

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