USC researchers to assess immediate and long-term health impacts of LA wildfires through Project Firestorm

On January 7, 2025, two large destructive firestorms began in Los Angeles. Over the course of the following days, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned over 50,000 acres, destroyed 16,000 dwellings, displaced 150,000 residents, and devastated the lives of many of Californians. As neighborhoods erupted into flames, toxic pollutants were emitted into the air.

“These were not regular fires. This was a major urban firestorm that led to combustion of many dwellings including workplaces, schools, and libraries— leading to complex smoke exposures due to the combustion of many products,” says Frank Gilliland, MD, PhD, professor of population and public health sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC, and air pollution research expert.

The toxins produced included fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, PM10), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (Nox), persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and various metals.

Through Project Firestorm, Gilliland and a team of researchers from Keck School of Medicine are embarking on an a rapid-response epidemiological study to investigate the health impacts of wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires. The timely study is co-led by Jennifer Unger, PhD, professor of population and public health sciences, and Daniel Soto, EdD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical population and public health sciences, from the medical school.

“This fire was very intense and on a different scale than most recent fires in terms of the number of houses burned and the density and age of the housing. These factors make a huge difference in terms of exposures,” says Gilliland, who has worked as a respiratory health and cancer epidemiologist since the 1970s. “We really don’t know what the health effects are, revealing a gap in the scientific literature. We want to better understand not only the physical effects such as respiratory health, but also neurological and immune outcomes that could potentially occur.”

There are several major concerns in the aftermath of this urban firestorm. One is the high level of smoke exposure and byproducts that people inhaled during the fire event itself. Next is the mental health outcomes and financial stress experienced by those impacted by the fires. A third, is the cleanup process, removal of debris, and rebuilding phase.

“Our study will leverage an existing cohort of 9,000 participants from the University of Southern California including students, staff, and faculty from a previous COVID-19 study,” says Unger. “This will allow for immediate data collection to reduce recruitment delays.”

“Understanding the short and long-term psychosocial and biological impacts of WUI fires is essential. Over the past decade, the number of structures lost to these fires has more than doubled, leaving behind potential environmental toxins impacting the health of community members,” says Soto.

Project Firestorm intends to build the evidence base to uncover the risks people face during WUI fires and how to minimize exposure during the cleanup phase. “Wildfires are becoming an increasingly frequent public health crisis, yet we still lack sufficient data on the mental and physical health effects of urban wildfires,” says Unger. As a result, the study also intends to disseminate information and data to help address community concerns and guide recovery efforts.

This effort has been funded by the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center; Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI); and the Hastings Foundation. “With additional funding, we can expand exposure monitoring efforts and improve data-driven wildfire responses and recovery strategies that will protect vulnerable communities in future disasters,” says Gilliland.

“We have an important role now as an independent university to continue to be a source of credible information and a trusted source that provides information to make decisions in the recovery phase,” concludes Gilliland.

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About the study:

Project Firestorm aims to:

1. Quantify the health effects of wildfires smoke exposure by assessing respiratory symptoms, mental health outcomes, and financial stress among individuals impacted by the fires.
2. Measure exposure to toxic pollutants and metals through biological and environmental sampling
3. Assess changes over time by conducting follow up surveys and exposure assessments one year post-fire.