The U.S. city of Los Angeles (LA) choked under a thick blanket of smoke Thursday as wildfires raged across Southern California, forcing schools to close and prompting health warnings as residents struggled to breathe.
“It’s not breathable,” said Dulce Perez, a cook at Teddy’s Cocina in Pasadena. “We just try to stay indoors.”
All around the United States’ second-largest city, residents worried about air that has, at times, turned lung-burning from the ash, soot, and smoke emanating from fires that have destroyed 10,000 structures.
Air purifiers were sold out at some big-box stores, according to interviews with employees at four businesses. Some residents were taping windows to keep the smoke out of their homes.
Firefighters finally started gaining control over two major wildfires on the eastern and western banks of LA on Friday as fierce winds that supercharged the fires for days finally eased.
While conditions improved on Friday, an air quality alert remained in effect until the evening, and dangerous particulate matter remained around four times World Health Organization guidelines.
Potential Impact on Health
The sustained exposure to poor air quality raises concerns about the potential impact on health.
Reference(s):
Breathing dangerously: Wildfires blanket LA in hazardous smoke
cgtn.com
