By Sara Ashley O'Brien

When Sandra Duran moved to Pasadena, Calif., two years ago, she pictured going on long walks with her cocker spaniel, chic outdoor meals in Los Angeles and monthly hiking trips with her husband. This month's wildfires turned her dreams upside down.

Duran lives about five miles from where the Eaton fire struck, but the blazes engulfed her neighborhood in a layer of smoke. "I could see little particles falling in the air, and there were a lot of ashes on the sidewalks," she said. "That's when I started getting a little bit concerned."

For nearly two weeks, Duran has been wearing an N95 mask to walk her dog, Artemis. (She got a mask for Artemis, too, but he hated it.) She's been drinking lots of bottled water to flush out toxins and getting wildfire-alert notifications through the app Watch Duty. She started using a hypochlorous-acid facial spray after washing her face with tap water and ordered a water testing device over the weekend. Even as the air quality has supposedly improved, she remains on high alert.

"The biggest appeal of Southern California is the weather, so now that it seems we can't enjoy that for some time, it really puts into question if this city is really our forever place," Duran said.

The greater Los Angeles area has long lured transplants with its picturesque landscape, year-round sunshine and promises of a slower, healthier way of life. Now, warnings of water and air contamination are sparking anxiety in America's wellness capital. Officials have urged people in areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires, where harmful chemicals might be present in tap water and air , to consume only bottled water and refrain from cooking, showering, filtering or boiling tap water. They have also recommended people wear masks outside when conditions are smoky. Some are taking additional precautions to protect themselves and preparing for the future. Others are weighing whether to stay.

Residents are buying up air purifiers, protective gear and water testing devices. Local webinars are helping residents navigate safety recommendations. Some businesses and influencers are pushing saline nasal rinses, sweating out pollutants and taking supplements that they say support lung health and detoxing.

Sarah Jean Mark, who runs a property-management company and lives in Venice, has been testing her tap water twice a day since the fires broke out. She uses a total dissolved solids meter, which measures dissolved solids in water in parts per million, to compare water from her tap with samples filtered by her countertop reverse-osmosis machine. She purchased the meter Amazon for less than $10.

She had purchased the device well before the fires to test the effectiveness of her Berkey water-filtration system. "I was just astounded to see the levels increase dramatically," she said, noting that her tap water averaged around 120 TDS pre-fire and was over 500 TDS late last week. The higher TDS score isn't "necessarily bad," she said -- dissolved solids can include minerals that are beneficial or have no effect when consumed. "What concerned me was knowing what my normal level was and seeing it increase every 12 hours." Mark said she's still too afraid to bathe in faucet water.

"I've been dragging my reverse-osmosis machine over my bathtub, because it also boils water, and filling up the bathtub with hot water," said Mark. She's considering relocating for at least a few months as a precaution, she said.

Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the California State Water Board's Division of Drinking Water, said he doesn't recommend the use of TDS meters or home tests, which could be inaccurate or "mislead people completely." He said water sources might have changed as a result of the fires, and different water sources can have higher TDS readings as a result of harmless minerals.

He urged people to check their water service provider for the latest guidance, noting that nine water service providers have issued some kind of notice since the start of the fires.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reverse-osmosis systems can remove some chemicals from water, such as lead and copper. They can also reduce levels of arsenic, fluoride and minerals such as magnesium and potassium. Polhemus said carbon filters, which many reverse-osmosis machines and refrigerator drinking water systems have, can remove volatile organic compounds, which are linked to long-term health risks including cancer. But those following the notices from water service providers won't need carbon filters, he said. Moreover, those in "do not drink" zones should not attempt to purify tap water with filters.

The Water Board will soon put out information about the various notices and the stages of water testing, Polhemus said.

Sogol Ashourpour, a naturopathic doctor who runs a private practice and works for medical-services provider Concierge MD, said she has been fielding messages from community members about how to care for themselves.

"In L.A., we've never seen anything like this," she said. "I think everyone is so scared and just devastated. There's so much lack of control right now."

Concierge MD has been sharing health tips and recommending supplements that it says "support detox pathways." (Supplements are not subject to approval by the Food and Drug Administration.) It sells a "Total Tox Burden Test," a urine test that the company says might help identify toxins in the body.

Anthony Wexler, director of the air-quality research center at University of California, Davis, said he recommends people pay attention to the AQI, as well as PurpleAir, which pulls local air-quality data from sensors owned by individuals throughout the region. "When it's in your neighborhood, then you know to stay indoors, keep the kids indoors, close up the house, put on the air filter -- all those good things that you have from Covid, whip them out."

He said that it's difficult to gauge air safety on smell alone. "If you can see it or smell it, it's bad," he said. "But if you can't see it or smell it, it might still be bad."

Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health said it was upholding a mask advisory through Tuesday evening, based on wind conditions.

Sarah Muller, a food scientist and mom of two young boys who lives in Brentwood, said she evacuated her family to Orange County to get fresh air. She has been paying close attention to Watch Duty, L.A. County press conferences and community WhatsApp chats.

"The chats can be helpful, but they can also feed a little hysteria and make it more challenging to understand what's relevant and what's not," she said.

When her family returns, she said she plans to limit her sons' outdoor playtime and neighborhood walks. She also purchased an air purifier for their home.

After Tessa Mac, a Los Angeles matchmaker, saw her childhood home burn in the Palisades fire, she ordered a HEPA air purifier, a reverse-osmosis water system and a showerhead filter. She has been visiting saunas to sweat and detox, taking new supplements and meditating to help cope with stress.

"Another thing I haven't done yet, but I plan to do, is get blood tests for toxins," Mac said, "instead of waiting like 10 years to discover some horrible thing."

Write to Sara Ashley O'Brien at sara.obrien@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2025 22:05 ET (03:05 GMT)

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