What parents should know about wildfire air quality, ash, and protecting kids

Fires are still burning in parts of Los Angeles, and potentially dangerous winds continue to be a threat.

Wildfire smoke causes particularly dangerous air quality, especially for sensitive groups that include children and pregnant people. The multiple fires that broke out last week led L.A. County to issue a smoke advisory that ended Sunday evening, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a "windblown dust and ash advisory" through Wednesday evening.

Many families are still wondering, justly, how safe the air is. Facebook and Reddit groups for parents and caretakers have been bursting with questions about what children can or can't do, and making some version of the same inquiries: How can the air supposedly be OK when it’s filled with ash? And what does that mean for kids?

What’s in the air?

First, the risks.

Wildfire smoke includes small particles that can be dangerous for your health. (It’s called particulate matter 2.5).

As LAist has reported:

"It's not just forest burning, but unfortunately, homes and businesses and factories with their own sets of plastics and toxins that… will be high levels of oxides, nitrates, and heavy metals that can be carcinogenic," said Richard Castriotta, a pulmonologist at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

How do I know what particulates are in the air?

The South Coast Air Quality Management District monitors particulates in our region, and is responsible for the air quality index (or AQI). And experts say AQI is a good place to start. The SC AQMD marks 0-50 air quality as good, 51-100 as moderate, and anything higher as unhealthy for sensitive groups, which includes pregnant people and children.

But the AQI doesn't account for everything, said Michael Kleinman, co-director of the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory with UC Irvine's School of Population and Public Health.

"The particles from the fire, especially close to where the fire was, will be contaminated with other toxic materials, and they can be a harm hazard," he said.

PurpleAir, a network of public air quality sensors, offers an alternative view to AQMD's.

Read more from LAist: Does a ‘good’ Air Quality Index rating mean it’s safe to be outdoors?

The AQI is fine, but I'm still worried. What should I know?

Castriotta with USC said toxins from burning homes won't always be taken into consideration in the air quality index. And the closer you are to a fire or burned homes, the higher the risk of those contaminants in the air.

He said potentially toxic ash from burned buildings could get spread in the aftermath of a fire — but where it goes depends on the winds.

"If you're in Santa Monica close to the Palisades Fire, or if you're in Pasadena close to the Eaton Fire and the wind's blowing in that direction, then you probably want to keep your kids out of ... the outside air," he said.

Why are children and pregnant people at a higher risk around wildfire smoke?

These pollutants can be particularly dangerous for young children and pregnant people because they have higher respiratory rates, according to Rita Kachru, the chief of allergy and immunology at UCLA. This means that these groups are breathing faster — so they inhale more pollutants per minute.

"[Children are] considered a little bit more high-risk because they're a little bit more sensitive to the air pollution, because they tend to spend more time outside," Kachru said. "They tend to have more vigorous activity when they're running around outside. It's hard to tell a little 3-year-old, 'OK, go outside, but don't run around.'"

Children with pre-existing health conditions such as allergies and asthma may be at higher risk when it comes to wildfire smoke exposure, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

How do I protect myself and my kids from bad air quality?

The best mitigation is being out of environments with unhealthy air, said Mary Johnson, a research scientist at Harvard's School of Public Health.

" If you can stay away from the smoke and stay indoors, or go where the air quality is better, you should do it. It's always better to avoid exposure," she told LAist on Monday.

If you can't leave the area entirely, multiple health experts agreed that staying inside is important to staying healthy.

"I know we all have PTSD from COVID, and that's the last thing anybody wants to hear is stay indoors," Kachru said. "But really, that is the best thing you can do."

Staying healthy while indoors

Much of the advice for keeping children safe is the same as the guidance everyone is following. The CDC advises parents to:

• Keep children indoors when air quality is poor
• Keep doors and windows closed
• If possible, use an HVAC system with an air filter or a portable air filter.

Kachru also recommends keeping infants and children cool and hydrated during a wildfire, for example by giving your child a cool bath.

"Keep them cool, so they don't have too much internal heat as well," she said.

And here are other tips we've compiled from our previous coverage and elsewhere:

• Experts recommend a HEPA filter — worth noting, HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air — if you can get one. If you can't access an air filter, here's a guide to making your own out of a box fan.
• The Environmental Protection Agency suggests creating a clean room in your home — a designated space to keep air quality as high as possible. It has a guide to setting this up here.

We have to go outside. What should we do?

If you have to be outside in bad air quality, wear an N-95 mask. Children over the age of 2 can also wear a mask, but make sure it fits properly.

" My suggestion is to make a game out of it, so that the child will accept it," said Castriotta with USC about helping your child to wear a mask.

He also said if you need to take your kids somewhere in a car, run the air conditioning and make sure the air that's circulating is just the air that's inside the car.

We evacuated and are returning to our home. How do I know it's safe?

The L.A. County Department of Public Health advises parents returning home after a wildfire to keep children away from ash and items covered in ash.

"Think of ash like fine, dangerous dust that can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause major problems everywhere it lands. It's not just dirt," a county advisory states.

Before returning with children to an area impacted by wildfire, the EPA and pediatric groups recommend you check for:

• safe drinking water
• running electricity
• safe road conditions
• structurally sound homes; and
• sewage, ash, and debris have been removed

Kleinman with UC Irvine advises those returning home to wipe down walls and surfaces, and vacuum to clean the house. The county recommends a vacuum with a HEPA filter — a vacuum that sprays dust around could be counterproductive.

" Even though the ambient air, the outside air, is relatively clean, the air inside the home may be worse," Kleinman said.

He added that if you don't have an air quality monitor, looking for how much dust is accumulating is a good way to get a sense of indoor air quality.

And if you do return to a site where a home burned down, experts say to be careful afterward.

" Don't take your outer clothing that you wore into the fire zone and then wash it with the family laundry, because whatever toxic chemicals are there are going to be spread around," Kleinman said. " People have to be very cautious and avoid unnecessary exposure."

Learn more from an expert

On Jan. 22, we interviewed Kachru about all things air quality for an Instagram Live presentation. Watch it for yourself: