As Los Angeles heads into its second week under siege from wildfires, growing concerns over the health impacts of the resulting smoke are coming to the forefront.
Unlike wildfires, which typically ravage remote forests and rural areas, California’s recent fires have brought urban devastation into sharp focus. And while the destruction of homes and infrastructure is immediately apparent, the invisible toll on air quality from urban fires could pose a more insidious threat to residents and first responders.
“All smoke is bad,” Rory Hadden, a fire science professor at the U.K.’s University of Edinburgh, told Newsweek. “Any time you see smoke from a fire, that pretty much always means it’s got some very nasty stuff in it.”
Why Is the Smoke in L.A. So Dangerous?
While the …