Toxic Debris From California Fires Washing Into Ocean and on Beaches
“Toxic fire debris going into the water and its impact on marine life and the environment has been a major concern.”
In the wake of the California wildfires, tons of debris still sitting along the coast and some of it is being washed into the ocean and then drifting back onto the beach in various places.
Cleanup is proceeding faster than expected in some areas, but there is just so much of it given the number of homes that burned that this is inevitable.
FOX 11 in Los Angeles reports:
Palisades Fire debris washing up on Santa Monica beaches
If you’ve been to Santa Monica Beach, you’ve probably seen the piles of charred debris from recent fires still on the beach. We also see quite a few people on the sand, even dipping their feet in the water, despite public health advisories. The question is, when will the beach debris be removed?
Different beaches usually have different jurisdictions when it comes to cleanups, but back on February 4, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath introduced a motion to take “immediate action to clean fire debris from county beaches.”
Some cleanup has occurred near the worst fire burn areas off PCH, but as you get close to Santa Monica Beach, the amount of debris increases. The agencies that would usually organize cleanups in these areas, like Heal the Bay, are stopping all cleanups until they see more testing from the Department of Health.
Their preliminary testing results for contaminants at two sites, Will Rogers State Beach and Topanga Beach, on Feb. 2, found “metals likely representative of background levels and no asbestos, not detected or extremely limited to minor concentrations.”
In some cases, the debris gathers together in the water forming makeshift islands.
It's a disgusting discovery off the coast of Malibu, a floating island of toxic fire debris. Now, new concerns of more waste from the Palisades Fire washing into the ocean as another storm moves in. The troubling images -Tonight at 11 from ABC7. https://t.co/emKfumbs2Q pic.twitter.com/ASeUhXqJQp
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) February 28, 2025
From ABC 7 News:
After the devastating fires ripped through the Los Angeles area last month, the clean up process has been nothing short of difficult.
Drone footage over the Palisades Fire burn zone showed the extent of the damage right off the Pacific Ocean.
Higher than normal tides are flooding normally dry burned beachfront homes in Malibu and fire debris is being dragged offshore.
Video shows the debris floating in the water and collecting just offshore in some areas along the Malibu coast.
Toxic fire debris going into the water and its impact on marine life and the environment has been a major concern.
It’s a good thing Gavin Newsom is launching a podcast, isn’t it?
Adam Carolla, who has been taking this entire situation much more seriously, recently commented on some of the unforeseen issues that are going to make rebuilding more difficult.
Adam Carolla returns to Malibu and gives us a lesson in septic systems… pic.twitter.com/iANHeJLmbu
— The Adam Carolla Show (@AdamCarollaShow) February 27, 2025
Rebuilding these communities is going to be a very long process.
Featured image via YouTube.
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Comments
What about their eternally-vaunted Coastal Protection Commission, or whatever the hell they call it? Are they still all flying desks, busily rewriting zoning laws?
Enjoy the decline CA. Leftist policies. Lost decade.
California’s permit fees run$75,000 for a modest home, much more for bigger structures. This racket is a huge government cash cow. You can bet they are hoping to get all Americas to cover their cash cow. There should be strict limits on our money being used in this manner.
And just think, they could have had the reservoirs filled and equipment ready to put out the fires before it got to this point.
what toxins? what concentrations?
probably getfar more deadly toxins in the surf washing across the Pacific from Chinese manufacturing
It says in a quote in the post:
“Their preliminary testing results for contaminants at two sites, Will Rogers State Beach and Topanga Beach, on Feb. 2, found “metals likely representative of background levels and no asbestos, not detected or extremely limited to minor concentrations.””
So the “toxins” aren’t there, but hey, they might have been.
Worry a little more about the radioactive water STILL being flushed into the Pacific by the Fukushima Daiichi reactors. And when you read the reports from the IAEA, you get the following BS:
“All the test results during the month of November have confirmed that the radiation levels of sampled water were substantially below the operational targets set by TEPCO”.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is “TEPCO”, and they got to set their own targets? Not to mention the fact that independent third-party testing shows that they are consistently lying about the radiation levels, reporting them below what the 3rd party shows.
There’s nothing that says “competent engineering” like building your nukes in an area that has been known to be susceptible to tsunami’s for the past thousand years or so.
Build a wall around California and send all California migrants home. They are as toxic as their state and they have already contaminated multiple other states.
Having been a builder and developer for nearly 50 years don’t plan on anything happening. Worked for awhile in California in the mid 80s to early 90s and everything is a committee or commission. If it meant putting in a single road 300′ long it would take 3 years to get the first house going. Given moderate resources and cooperation the beach properties could have already been cleared. There is no reason (obviously it’s California) for all the burned out house lots not to ready by summer. Understand once we get permits I can develop a 750 house development fro desert to finished roads with all infrastructure in 6-8 months and have all the amenities like club houses and pools completed by the 1 year mark. They already have the streets and utilities. Most of these people will be screwed over.
@Cal_OES were bragging about laying down those round 6-7 inch thick straw snakes along the PCH to absorb toxic runoff. It’s light duty material. Of course it was all performative-photo op nonsense. They did the same after the PARK fire.
Cal OES, that’s the Governor’s California Office of Emergency Services. The same agency “prepositioning” their fire trucks and crews a day after the Palisades fire started.
wattles
It Mew-some had a podcast now and he’s raising 50 million to fight Trump
Got to like those cajones
The homes on the west side of PCH will never be rebuilt. The coastal commission has been angling to remove them for decades. The restrictions will be onerous and then the state will swoop in and buy up the land. The commission has wanted public access to the beaches forever. This is the “miracle” they have been waiting for. The Palisades will be tied up forever too. An endless legal, permitting hell that will grind up the original homeowners till they give I. And sell.
That does seem to be the plan. It will be interesting to see what they do to the few people whose beach homes survived. Makes me wonder if eminent domain isn’t in their future.
They are going to screw around long enough that the people who own the homesites will not be able to pay the taxes on them. The state will then come in and make them an offer they can’t refuse, the people will take the money and leave the state and then California will build it’s 15 min city with much multi family welfare housing thrown in leave the beachfront empty for a park.
Adam Carolla has a longer video of that visit to Malibu on his YouTube channel. I happened to watch it when it dropped last week. It’s worth the watch.