Altadena residents say hazards from the Los Angeles area wildfires that burned neighborhoods in January 2025 still linger inside homes a year later, including lead and asbestos. Some families say they moved back after professional cleaning, only to find contamination in tests of dust and surfaces.
The wildfire aftermath has been marked not just by rebuilding, but by renewed precautions inside homes. In Altadena, block after block includes reminders that contaminants can persist, and at least one house displayed a sign on a front door reading “DANGER: Lead Work Area.” The sign also warned that lead work “may damage fertility or the unborn child” and “causes damage to the central nervous system.”
People cleaning homes, hazardous waste workers and homeowners alike have gone in wearing masks, respirators, gloves and hazmat suits as they wipe, vacuum and power-wash properties that were not burned to ash. The fear is intensified by the broader uncertainty about long-term effects from wildfire exposure: the indoor air quality after major urban fires remains understudied, and scientists do not know the long-term health impacts of exposure to massive urban fires like last year’s Los Angeles wildfires. The reporting also noted that some chemicals released in wildfire smoke have been linked to heart disease and lung issues, and that exposure to minerals such as magnetite has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Ash left behind can include a mix of contaminants from incinerated materials. The report described wildfire ash as a “toxic soup” that can contain pesticides, asbestos, plastics, lead and other heavy metals. Even after fires are extinguished, scientists and health advocates say, volatile organic compounds from smoke can also linger inside homes.
Nina and Billy Malone said their home survived the fires but that harmful levels of lead remained even after professional cleaning. They described testing that found lead on the wooden floors of their living room and bedroom. They said they were forced to move back in August after insurance cut off their rental assistance, and since then Nina wakes almost daily with a sore throat and headaches. Billy said he needed an inhaler as his wheezing and congestion worsened, and Nina described her bedroom’s smell as “like an ashtray has been sitting around for a long time.” She said, “I don’t feel comfortable in the space.”
Other residents described similar disputes over what insurers will cover for remediation and retesting. Zoe Gonzalez Izquierdo said she could not get her insurance company to pay for an adequate cleanup of her Altadena home after it tested positive for dangerous levels of lead and other toxic compounds. She said, “They can’t just send a company that’s not certified to just wipe things down so that then we can go back to a still contaminated home,” and described having children ages 2 and 4. Experts cited in the story said lead can linger in dust on floors and windowsills, and attributed that to burned lead paint; the report said the University of Southern California found more than 70% of homes within the Eaton Fire were built before 1979.
A November report released by Eaton Fire Residents United, a volunteer group formed by residents, said six out of 10 homes damaged from smoke from the Eaton Fire still have dangerous levels of cancer-causing asbestos, brain-damaging lead or both. The report said the findings were based on self-submitted data from 50 homeowners who had cleaned their homes, with 78% hiring professional cleaners. It also said that among the 50 homes, 63% had lead levels above the Environmental Protection Agency standard, with average lead levels almost 60 times higher than the EPA rule.
Health professionals and researchers emphasized steps intended to reduce ongoing exposure. The report said residents returning home should ventilate and filter indoor air by opening windows or running high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers with charcoal filters. Pediatrician Dr. Lisa Patel said it is “particularly important that we do everything we can to eliminate exposure to lead” for individuals who are pregnant or young children, and she added that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.
Residents said they remain at the mercy of insurance companies as they try to determine what is safe and what will be reimbursed. Annie Barbour of the nonprofit United Policyholders said the mental health toll comes alongside fights over testing and conflicting opinions about what contaminants to look for. She said residents have been in “their own special kind of hell ever since,” and she described drawing on her own experience as a survivor of the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Northern California.
Others said even when homes are livable, the process can leave families with lasting losses. Julie Lawson said her family paid about $7,000 out of pocket to test the soil in their Altadena home even after their insurer agreed to replace grass in their front yard, describing plans to test again once inside remediation was complete. Lawson said, “We have to live in the scar,” and added, “We’re all still really struggling.”
The Malones’ experience illustrates the practical and financial consequences of lingering contamination concerns. Their insurance, Billy said, would not pay to retest their home, and the family was considering paying $10,000 themselves. He said the insurer told them it would only pay to clean up toxins that are federally regulated, such as lead and asbestos. Nina said, “I don’t know how you fight that,” and described considering therapy as she tries to cope with anxiety about how to compel coverage for steps they see as necessary to make their home safe.
AP staff writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.