Scientific American quoted Dr. Yifang Zhu, professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences, about research into how best to measure toxins released into the air during urban wildfires, including the recent blazes in Los Angeles County.
Science interviewed Dr. Rachael M. Jones and Dr.
The Los Angeles Times cited a study that found the blood of a group of 20 firefighters called to duty during the recent Los Angeles County wildfires had levels of lead and mercury in their blood that was significantly higher than what health experts consider to be safe — and also higher than firefighters exposed to a forest fire.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health environmental science professors Dr. Michael Jerrett and Dr. Yifang Zhu were quoted in the New York Times about the potential long-term health risks to residents in the southern California communities destroyed by wildfires in 2025.
DUARTE, Calif. (AP) — Not far from where Ceci Carroll lives, a rock-mining company has polluted the air with dust across the San Gabriel Valley, she said.
Now, as crews clean charred remains from the Los Angeles wildfires, she worries about a new potential source of contamination: a site to process hazardous debris from the Eaton Fire. //
In an unprecedented collective scientific effort to understand the short- and long-term health impacts of wildfires, researchers from four universities have launched a 10-year study of the Los Angeles fires. The wildfires that began in early January 2025 killed 29 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and exposed millions to toxic smoke.
The research aims to evaluate which pollutants are present, at what levels, and where, and to assess the respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, reproductive, and immune system impacts of the wildfires.
Survivors of wildfires like those burning across Los Angeles can experience mental health issues long after a blaze is out.
In a special issue of the American Journal of Public Health, guest editors Vickie M. Mays and Susan D. Cochran call for a reframing and redoubling of public mental health efforts.
High rates of food insecurity, hate incidents, and difficulties accessing health care were all at the forefront of issues that plagued Californians in 2022, according to the annual California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data released today by FSPH's