The fires have been long extinguished, but the health effects of Los Angeles’ destructive 2025 wildfires are still living on one year later.
The Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Kenneth, Hughes and Sepulveda fires killed 440 people, destroyed nearly 16,000 homes, and burned more than 55,000 acres of land from Jan. 7 through February. The Palisades Fire alone caused an estimated $51.7 billion worth of home damage, according to a July analysis from Redfin.
LA residents are dealing with not just the emotional toll of the tragedy on its anniversary, but the physical toll as well, according to health experts from the University of California, Los Angeles. Residents’ lungs, in particular, face ongoing health challenges.
“Many individuals who followed up with me six months later also mentioned their symptoms flared with the fires,” UCLA Health pulmonologist and associate clinical professor May-Lin Wilgus said in a recent article posted by the university. “These patients often had continued exposures — such as returning to smoke-damaged homes or encountering high levels of heavy-metal contamination — so it does seem to be a trigger.”
A study published in December by LA’s Smidt Heart Institute and other researchers found that more severe forms of illness presented early in some susceptible LA residents, including excess emergency encounters for not only pulmonary illness and acute myocardial infarction. But, less severe effects have persisted or started to present with delayed timing, including increased systemic illness through blood chemistry laboratory abnormalities.
“Systemic health effects are not often reported in post wildfire outcomes studies, perhaps because they are not easily detected or because they are associated more with WUI than wildland-only fire exposures,” the research said. “Indeed, the smoke produced by WUI compared with wildland-only fires is known to contain not only a more complex aggregate of volatile and semi-volatile chemical constituents but also toxic metals, which may alter the epigenetic profiles of immune cells with broad tissue distribution in exposed individuals.”
Dr. Wilgus advised communities to start preparing for the next major wildfire now to lessen future adverse health effects, including using high-quality air filters, creating evacuation plans, and storing an emergency go-bag with food, water and medications.
“We have a very wide network of pulmonology clinics throughout the region, where we are treating patients who may have been affected,” Dr. Wilgus said. “Throughout Los Angeles, we need to be more aware and prepared, as well as support ongoing research to help reduce these impacts.”
