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Residents raise air-quality and street-sweeping concerns after Eaton Canyon fire
Summary
Public commenters told the commission that ash and toxic residues from the Eaton Canyon fire reached South Pasadena and urged changes to street and landscape cleanup practices, citing elevated lead and chlorine measurements at a federal test site.
During the public-comment period at the Jan. 28 Natural Resources and Environmental Commission meeting, residents described ash deposition from the Eaton Canyon fire and urged the city to change leaf-blower and street-sweeping practices to avoid redistributing toxic particles.
"During the Eaton Fire ... a federal testing laboratory, federal test site in Pico Rivera picked up a hundred times the lead that it normally picks up and 40 times the chlorine from the fire," resident Angela Lehi told the commission. She said South Pasadena lies within the ash-deposition zone and described finding ash at homes and in gutters. Lehi cited advice reported from Paul Weinberg of Caltech discouraging the use of blowers because they can disturb toxins.
Lehi and another resident noted that city-contracted crews were using dry sweeping and leaf blowers that created visible dust clouds. "When they blow when they drive by, they blow just very large clouds of dust, and it appears that they are not capturing any of it," Lehi said. Another commenter added that lawn mowers and large landscaping equipment also sent ash into the air and suggested crews wet-sweep or otherwise control dust during cleanup.
Residents connected the street-level dust to runoff concerns, saying that toxins flushed into gutters could reach the Arroyo Seco. One commenter referenced the Arroyo Seco Waterways project as reason to avoid pushing contaminants into the arroyo and asked for public education and changes to street-sweeping protocols.
Commissioners thanked speakers and asked staff to improve communication about cleanup procedures and to consider whether current practices—such as wet sweeping and restrictions on blowers—are being enforced.
