Caltech Magazine: Local Scientists Track Lead, Air Quality, and Debris-Flow Risk After the Eaton Fire

Caltech Magazine highlighted how Caltech researchers responded to the Eaton Fire by studying heavy metal contamination, post-fire air quality, and debris-flow risk. Dr. Francois Tissot's lab worked with residents to process more than 300 samples from 52 homes within five weeks of the fire and found unsafe lead levels in homes as far as 7 miles from the burn zone. Other Caltech researchers deployed PHOENIX air-quality sensors across Altadena, finding that average particulate levels were often classified as good but could spike into unhealthy ranges, often in the morning and potentially connected to cleanup and construction activity. The article underscores why local, independent science has been essential to understanding the Eaton Fire's public-health impacts and why recovery decisions need to be driven by data. Read the Caltech article.