The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is again urging residents to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in the ocean because of the debris and ash in the water from fires ravaging the region.
“Ash from the Los Angeles fires may enter coastal water through surface water runoff and windblown ash,” an alert sent out by the department on Thursday, Jan. 23, warned.
The ash could contain substances such as arsenic, other metals and asbestos, which can be harmful to human health, officials said.
The advisory applies to ocean and bay waters from Surfrider Beach to Dockweiler State Beach at World Way.
“People entering these waters could become ill,” officials warned.
The advisory will remain in place until lifted by the Department of Public Health.
A previous advisory warning people away from the waters off Malibu Point at Surfrider Beach has been lifted following water quality testing.
Zachary Plopper, environmental director for Surfrider Foundation, said he worries about the impacts after the winter season’s “first flush.”
Rain is expected this weekend, and while precipitation would be a welcome relief for the firefighting efforts, it also raises mudslide and water quality concerns.
“The water quality is going to be impacted,” Plopper said. “We anticipate there to be significant water quality impacts, mostly toxins.”
He’s unsure whether septic tanks were affected in the Palisades fire, which hugged the Los Angeles coastline just east of Malibu, but that is also a big concern, he said.
Then, there’s the debris that will flush straight down to the ocean if the rain is heavy enough.
“I think we can anticipate debris, dangerous levels of debris,” he said.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has a Blue Water Taskforce that will help organize cleanups and do water quality testing once the area opens back up.
“When that rain does come, it could have a big impact on the ocean environment,” he said.
The topography of the coastline, with high elevations just next to the coast at sea level, means water and, therefore, sediment and debris, is going to flow straight down, especially as much of the vegetation has burned, he warned.
“I’d say it’s going to be severe,” he said. “Water quality will be pretty severely impacted.”