In early January, wildfires erupted on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, and, fueled by especially dry conditions, a diminished fire department, and rapacious Santa Ana winds, quickly spread into out-of-control blazes that would burn more than 40,000 acres and rank among the deadliest and most destructive fires in the state’s history.
Amid these tragic events—which killed at least twenty-nine people, destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other structures, upended lives and ecosystems, and spewed toxins into the air—the city’s large unsheltered population was left exposed to the elements, exacerbating an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Miles away from the epicenter of the fires, the hurricane-strength winds that coincided with the start of the blazes ravaged tents and makeshift structures in Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, one of the nation’s largest unhoused communities, leaving many without even basic cover. In the days that followed, ash blanketed the streets and sidewalks, and some of the worst air quality index measurements were recorded in the downtown area.
Studies have shown this kind of air quality can increase immediate and long-term cardiovascular and respiratory risk, a particular concern in a community already rife with underlying health issues and little opportunity to escape the smoke.
With much of the county’s focus centered on the areas directly hit by the fires, grassroots mutual aid efforts led the way in responding to the far-flung impact of the crisis on the unsheltered individuals of Skid Row—the extent of which we will likely not understand for years.
The organization I work with, Blue Hollywood Street Sanctuary (BHSS), a community-building and harm-reduction program led by people with lived homelessness experience, and our partner organization, The Sidewalk Project, were among those on the front lines of this community care.
Amelia Rayno
More than ten miles downwind of the Eaton Fire, downtown Los Angeles experienced some of the worst air quality in the days following the fires. Just north of Skid Row, the particulate pollution (or microscopic debris in the air) reached 483.7 micrograms per cubic meter, almost fourteen times the federal limit for daily average concentrations.
Amelia Rayno
Poor air quality containing particulate pollution can impair lung function and make absorbing oxygen more difficult, thus increasing the likelihood of opioid overdose, during which the brain is deprived of oxygen. This is a major concern in a zip code where people have been dying of overdoses at more than seventy-seven times the countywide rate when adjusted for age—and it has increased the importance of providing the area with naloxone nasal spray, which can reverse overdoses, as well as oxygen canisters, which provide supplemental oxygen during emergencies.
Amelia Rayno
Noel DeMello sorts boxes of donations at The Sidewalk Project. Mutual aid donations overwhelmed their warehouse space and spilled onto their patio during the crisis. The Sidewalk Project also responded to the emergency by evacuating unhoused individuals from fire zones and opening up its resource center as a temporary shelter.
Amelia Rayno
Sidewalk Project outreach workers Beebee Moreno, center, and SAMSON, right, show a colleague how to apply a respiratory mask. Following the wildfires, there were increased levels of hazardous chemicals, including lead and asbestos, in the air.
Amelia Rayno
Rico Solomon uses an oxygen tank at The Sidewalk Project, a lived experience harm-reduction organization that serves vulnerable populations in Skid Row. Studies show unhoused communities disproportionately suffer from respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma that are exacerbated by poor air quality.
Amelia Rayno
Bag lunches are provided to Skid Row residents by the Hollywood Food Coalition. In addition to underlying health conditions that can be complicated by poor air quality, 15 percent of the unsheltered population in Skid Row are aged sixty-two and up, increasing the risks associated with prolonged exposure.
Amelia Rayno
A few days after the fires began, air pollution levels remained high but skies cleared, giving a false impression that masks were no longer necessary and making educational outreach all the more important. BHSS, with material support from The Sidewalk Project, distributed more than 900 masks during January.
Amelia Rayno
Chocolatta sits in her new tent after her previous shelter was destroyed by heavy winds. BHSS replaced twelve tents in the aftermath of the wildfires.