Massive fires causing hazardous air quality in southern California
Los Angeles, CA – Major ongoing brush fires have burned land and structures in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar. The wildfires have affected the air quality of Los Angeles County. Some towns and neighborhoods have lost power and internet, and the working people of the city are being impacted as the fires rage on.
As of Tuesday, January 7, brush fires started to appear around Los Angeles County, fanned by the Santa Ana high winds. So far, the fires have burned over 15,000 acres and 1000 structures in the Pacific Palisades. The Eaton fire near Altadena has burned down over 10,000 acres, while the Hurst fire near Sylmar has burned about 500 acres.
Five have been killed in the fires and several have suffered injuries due to the fires. Over 80,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes. The air quality currently has a level of 163 AQI which is considered unhealthy. In Lincoln Heights and in El Sereno, the traffic lights don't work. Interstate Highway 5 heading south and Interstate 110 south are jammed with traffic, making the roads unsafe. Dozens of public schools in the Los Angeles area have also closed due to hazardous smoke and ash.
The fires and the smoke filling out the sky in LA are affecting the working-class people who live in the city and worry about their safety. Hannah Keith, a shop steward and preloader working at the UPS Olympic Hub facility in downtown Los Angeles said, “UPS is forcing inside employees like me to work in terrible conditions in poorly ventilated buildings. The fires fill our work areas so much with smoke we can’t breathe. It highlights how much they really don’t care about our health and safety and how the company will stop at nothing to profit off our lives.”
This sentiment echoes reaction to event five years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine were in effect while many workers were forced to work with little to no hazard pay.
“I got up this morning and my four-year-old daughter asked me, ‘Papa, why is the sky orange?’” says UPS driver and Teamster Jared Hamil. “I had to break it down for her why fires and smoke affect the sky, without sounding scary. In reality it is scary. As climate change happens, we’re going to see more freak windstorms, wildfires, more frequent and stronger hurricanes, and natural disasters. But who is most affected by these occurrences? The working class. We are the ones who have to work under these hazardous conditions. We go home after spending an overtime shift with ash in our eyes and breathing in smoke all day.”
As of now the fires are 0% contained, the quality of the air is hazardous, and there are currently 1.5 million people who have no power or have been affected by blackouts.