Exacerbated by climate change, catastrophic wildfires pose an increasingly distributed global public health risk due to the inhalation of smoke and dust. Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more destructive, which presents immense challenges to ecosystems, communities, and economies.

For example, the 2022 McKinney Fire in California’s Klamath National Forest starkly illustrates these challenges. This catastrophic event began on July 29, 2022, and in just 36 hours, it consumed over 50,000 acres, destroyed the small community of Klamath River, and tragically claimed four lives. The fire ultimately burned more than 60,000 acres and triggered devastating mud and debris flows, highlighting the urgent need for effective wildfire response and recovery strategies.

In the aftermath of such a disaster, accurate and timely laboratory testing is crucial. Testing plays a pivotal role in understanding fire behavior, assessing damage, and guiding recovery efforts. Here is some helpful guidance on laboratory testing for wildfire response and recovery:

1. Understand the Importance of Laboratory Testing in Wildfire Response

Laboratory testing in the wake of a wildfire, like the McKinney Fire, serves several critical purposes:

• Assessing Air Quality and Health Impacts: Testing air samples for pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and toxic gases helps evaluate immediate health risks to residents and responders.
• Analyzing Soil and Water Contamination: Wildfires can release hazardous substances into the soil and water. Laboratory tests help determine the extent of contamination, which guides efforts to restore safe land use as well as protect water supplies and ecosystems. Underground conveyance lines for drinking water systems are particularly vulnerable to partial melting from the intense heat of fires, releasing toxic chemicals like benzene, which persisted in the drinking water systems of Paradise and Santa Rosa for several months. The loss of vegetation can significantly alter an ecosystem by increasing erosion, reducing nutrient availability in the soil, and posing a heightened risk for disease and pest infestations. All of these factors contribute to prolonged regrowth and impact what grows in the area affected by the fire.
• Evaluating Building Materials: Evaluating the fire resistance and structural integrity of building materials exposed to extreme heat contributes to the development of more resilient construction practices and building codes.
• Understanding Fire Behavior: Testing vegetation, fuels, and fire dynamics under controlled conditions provides insights into fire spread and informs firefighting strategies.

2. Pre-Event Planning: Preparing for Effective Testing

Effective laboratory testing begins long before a wildfire ignites. Preparing in advance ensures timely and accurate testing during and after an event like the McKinney Fire. Key steps include:

• Establishing Partnerships: Building relationships with local fire departments, environmental agencies, academic institutions, and other stakeholders is essential. These partnerships facilitate data sharing, resource pooling, and coordinated responses during wildfire events.
• Defining Testing Protocols: Develop standardized protocols for sample collection, handling, and analysis. Clear guidelines ensure consistency, defensibility, reliability, and comparability of test results across different laboratories and jurisdictions. Due to underlying geological differences, known and agreed-upon background levels for each location must also be established prior to analysis and evaluation of the data.
• Equipping Your Laboratory: Ensure your laboratory is equipped with the necessary tools and technologies to conduct a broad range of tests. This may include air samplers, soil and water testing kits, and advanced analytical instruments for chemical analysis.
• Training Personnel: Regularly train laboratory staff on wildfire-specific testing procedures, including safety protocols, sample collection methods, and the operation of specialized testing equipment.

3. During the Event: Conducting Real-Time Testing

When a wildfire like the McKinney Fire occurs, rapid and accurate laboratory testing is critical. Key practices for real-time testing include:

• Consider combustion by-products: Gases and small particles are emitted through the incomplete burning of fuels such as oil, gas, kerosene, wood, charcoal, and propane. These materials can be acutely hazardous to humans since they can contain heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
• Consider the effect of wildfire on soil: Low-intensity fires are generally beneficial to soil quality, but fire can also destroy nutrients in the top layer of the soil. If the fire has negatively impacted the soil, then you may want to add new topsoil or mulch to outdoor areas before trying to restore any landscaping or planting replacement trees.  Intense heat can cause soil oxidation and can also make soil hydrophobic, which causes it to repel water, and this is detrimental to runoff and erosion.   If the soil is hydrophobic, then soil engineering measures may be needed to prevent contamination from the fire from entering the local watershed and to reduce potential soil erosion.  Additional concerns regarding asbestos for fires of older buildings needs to also be considered.
• Conduct metals testing & analysis: Evaluation of the soil should be completed after a wildfire, especially for metals and other contaminants. Soil testing can both identify contaminants so they can be removed and determine how the fire might have affected nutrients in the soil for replanting.  CAM17 analysis is the best option for testing metals contaminants after a wildfire to help provide the necessary data to understand next steps.   Soil with high levels of contaminants may need to be removed and replaced with fresh topsoil.
• Conduct asbestos testing & analysis: Older buildings, and even some newer ones, commonly have asbestos. Asbestos exposure is a concern when retrieving personal items and during clean-up. If you know your home contained asbestos, you should avoid exposure and make sure to wet debris thoroughly and then cover with plastic sheeting. If you are unsure, then have a professional test for asbestos and then remove any contaminated material. There may be specific requirements in your jurisdiction for safe asbestos removal
• Remove Debris: After a wildfire, burned and semi-burned debris is a potential hazard on your property. Debris should be removed; if you are unable to do so right away because you are waiting on a contractor or state funds, you should dampen the debris, so dust and volatiles don’t rise off it, affecting the local air quality.
• Wear PPE: Ensure that all field and laboratory personnel are equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and are aware of potential hazards in the affected areas. This means sturdy footwear, ideally boots, eye protection, work gloves, and an N95 or KN95 respirator. Cloth masks you might be using for protection from COVID-19 are not advisable or effective. If you can get your hands on disposable coveralls, do so. If not, then change clothes and shower right afterward and wash soiled clothes immediately.
• Don’t allow children to help: Keep children and pets restrained and away from the debris, especially dogs (who might decide digging in the ash is fun). Any recovered items should be washed in water or, if that would damage them further, wiped with a damp cloth.
• Implement Rapid Testing: Deploy mobile testing units to the field for immediate sample collection and preliminary analysis. Rapid testing capabilities provide real-time data to support urgent decision-making and public health advisories.
• Focus on Critical Metrics: Initially, concentrate on critical metrics, such as air quality indicators and soil contamination levels, that directly impact human health and environmental safety. Additionally, close attention must be directed towards potable water systems beginning at the source and continuing throughout the entire delivery system.
• Maintain Clear Communication: Establish clear lines of communication between field teams, laboratory staff, and decision-makers. Timely sharing of data and insights is crucial for coordinated response efforts and rapid recovery for the victims who have suffered the loss of property.

4. After the Event: Conducting Real-Time Testing

Laboratory testing continues to play a vital role in the long-term recovery phase. Effective post-event testing practices include:

• Comprehensive Environmental Assessment: Conduct thorough testing of air, soil, and water over an extended period to monitor the persistence of contaminants. Ongoing assessment helps identify long-term risks and informs remediation efforts. Damage to each of these life-sustaining systems can be persistent and not always immediately evident.
• Informing Policy and Planning: Use the data collected to inform policy decisions and land use planning. This can include updating building codes, designing better firebreaks, improving emergency response plans, and protecting watersheds.
• Community Engagement: Engage with affected communities to communicate findings, address concerns, and provide guidance on safe practices for returning to and rebuilding affected areas. Not all damages are immediately evident. Providing education to these communities of precursor indicators aids authorities in their response times and preparedness.

5. Continuous Improvement: Learning and Adapting

Every wildfire event, like the McKinney Fire, provides valuable lessons for improving future response and recovery efforts. We recommend that your team take the following steps:

• Evaluate and Update Protocols: Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your testing protocols and update them based on lessons learned from recent events and advancements in technology and methodologies.
• Invest in Research: Support ongoing research into fire behavior, environmental impacts, and recovery processes. Investing in research can lead to new insights and innovations that enhance future wildfire response and recovery efforts.
• Strengthen Collaboration: Continue to strengthen partnerships and collaboration with other laboratories, agencies, and communities. Shared knowledge and resources significantly enhance the overall capacity to respond to and recover from wildfires.

Before You Go…

Effective laboratory testing is a cornerstone of successful wildfire response and recovery. By preparing in advance, conducting timely and focused testing during events, and supporting long-term recovery efforts, laboratories play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of wildfires. As we face increasing wildfire threats, the importance of robust, coordinated, and innovative testing strategies cannot be overstated.

For more information on laboratory testing for wildfire response, or to discuss how we can support your efforts, please reach out.