One year after a series of devastating wildfires swept through the Los Angeles area, health experts at UCLA Health report that the impact on residents continues to be felt. The fires, which began with an eruption over Pacific Palisades and included several other blazes such as the Eaton, Hurst, Kenneth, Hughes, and Sepulveda fires, destroyed more than 16,000 homes and led to approximately 440 deaths while burning over 55,000 acres.
Dr. David Eisenman, professor-in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said: “This was a catastrophic event that changed much of Los Angeles — its community, its landscape and our health.” He added: “We are, not surprisingly, still suffering the consequences in many ways. Families have not returned to their homes, and high levels of pollutants remain in communities. It’s a tough place to be a year later.”
The wildfires caused significant declines in air quality. Those with preexisting respiratory conditions or prolonged exposure were especially affected by smoke from vegetation and toxins from burned materials. Dr. May-Lin Wilgus, pulmonologist and associate clinical professor at UCLA Health explained: “Initially, I definitely saw a spike in patients presenting with exacerbations or flare-ups of their lung condition, which was most commonly asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). But I think there were a lot of people who did not seek medical care at the time and later experienced increased symptoms.”
Wilgus also noted: “Many individuals who followed up with me six months later also mentioned their symptoms flared with the fires. These patients often had continued exposures — such as returning to smoke-damaged homes or encountering high levels of heavy-metal contamination — so it does seem to be a trigger.”
She recommended that communities prepare for future wildfires by improving indoor air quality using HEPA filters; keeping emergency supplies; establishing evacuation plans; and raising awareness about related health risks. “We have a very wide network of pulmonology clinics throughout the region, where we are treating patients who may have been affected,” said Wilgus. “Throughout Los Angeles, we need to be more aware and prepared, as well as support ongoing research to help reduce these impacts.”
Mental health issues have also persisted among those affected by the wildfires. Emanuel Maidenberg, clinical professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine said: “People most closely affected — such as those who lost their houses or belongings — often experience the greatest impact. Individuals with a history of prolonged anxiety or depression also tend to have difficulty recovering from events of this kind.” He added: “This is a really traumatic event that takes time to recover from. So these populations may experience slower recovery because the reminders are ever present, and their lives have changed.”
Eisenman highlighted ongoing disruptions caused by housing instability following the fires: “This has caused a lot of disruption to children’s schooling, time off from work and significant stress related to navigating insurance claims and rebuilding homes — all while families are still trying to process the trauma,” he said. “Right now we are studying the mental health consequences in the community, and we would expect to see elevated rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety among people who were evacuated from the fires.”
Maidenberg believes that visible reminders like scorched land will diminish over time but recovery requires expanded mental health services: “Over time people will talk about it less… But I think we are all a little bit more cautious… mindful of… sadness fear loss.”
Researchers continue efforts to understand long-term wildfire effects on health through initiatives like the UCLA Wildfire Impacted Communities Research Registry established by Eisenman alongside Dr. Arash Naeim—chief medical officer for clinical research at UCLA Health—which currently includes about 4,440 participants.
“The registry allows UCLA doctors and (other) health care professionals to better understand the health needs of patients and our community,” Eisenman said. “There will be other fires… We really need to know this in order to better protect health.”
Ongoing studies include examining differences between residents who stayed behind during evacuations versus those who left immediately—a decision researchers say may influence both property damage outcomes and personal health consequences.
“We expect that individuals who stayed behind to defend their homes will experience less fire-related property damage,” Eisenman said. “At the same time however we anticipate that these individuals will face more health consequences from staying behind including lung problems physical injuries and mental health concerns… we are highlighting the trade-off that people face when deciding to defend their home.”
Eisenman emphasized UCLA’s role in supporting both staff directly impacted by disasters as well as wider recovery efforts through data collection for community benefit.
“UCLA really stepped up in a lot of ways,” Eisenman said.“During the Palisades fire a lot of our faculty and staff across UCLA were affected… The administration moved quickly… while academic community worked…for betterment.” He concluded:“Learning how to evacuate safely prepare as community support each other during disaster is crucial—and coming together makes whole community stronger.”
