Restaurants were packed in Pasadena as fire evacuees ate lunch and passers-by ran indoors to escape the “smoked” air that covered the city.

A dramatic haze of smoke hung over the area on Thursday, about two miles (3.2 kilometers) away from one of the many wildfires burning in Los Angeles. “We’re just trying to stay in”they say.

This week, as fires raged and smoke billowed across Los Angeles, officials issued air quality warnings, schools canceled classes and scientists warned of the dangerous—even deadly—effects of forest smoke. fires.

Across the United States’ second-largest city, residents are concerned about the air laden with ash, soot and smoke from wildfires.

Air purifiers sold out at many major stores. Some residents taped up their windows to keep the smoke out of their homes. And Los Angeles officials urged people to stay indoors in areas where smoke was visible.

While conditions improved on Friday, the air quality alert remained in effect into the evening and hazardous particulate matter levels remained around four times over from the limit, based on his instructions World Health Organization.

At the Pasadena Convention Center, which has been turned into a temporary shelter, aid workers from Sean Penn’s global humanitarian organization, CORE, they were handing out masks N95 on Friday.

Director of emergency response programs Sunny Lee said the homeless people were particularly vulnerable in polluted air.

“There was nowhere for them to go and so they suffered even more outside with the poor air quality, without any kind of masks”Lee said. “So we promoted N95 masks with our partners who reached out to these communities. We distribute as many as we can.”

A hovering blur

The Los Angeles fires broke out on Tuesday and were fueled by strong winds. Neighborhoods have been reduced to ashes in some areas of Los Angeles.

Fire smoke usually carries with it harmful gases and particles that make it more toxic than normal air pollution. Fires not only burn plants, bushes and trees, but also buildings, houses and cars that contain plastics, fuels, metals and a range of chemicals.

Studies have linked wildfire smoke to higher rates of heart attacks, strokes and cardiac arrests as well as weakened immune system defenses.

Environmental health scientists and doctors have warned that the particles pose a risk to people with pre-existing lung and heart conditions, as well as the elderly and children.

Carlos Gould, an environmental health scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said the concentration of fine particles in the Los Angeles area has reached alarming levels between 40 and 100 micrograms per cubic meter at the start of the week before dropping to around 20 on Friday.

The maximum recommended by the WHO is 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

“The smoke levels from the wildfires we’ve seen in Los Angeles these past few days suggest an increase between 5-15% in daily mortality”Gould said.

Chemical byproducts from wildfires, especially those from burned man-made materials, penetrate deeper into the lungs and can even to enter the bloodstreamsaid Dr. Afif El-Hassan, a spokesman for the American Lung Association.

Even much further away from the fire, residents complained of smoke. With winds blowing out to sea, residents in the coastal community of Long Beach didn’t stay outdoors.

For some people in Los Angeles, the dangers won’t end when the fires are out, experts warned.

Justin Gillenwater, director of burns at Los Angeles General Medical Center, warns of long-term health effects from secondhand smoke, particularly for people with respiratory conditions and allergies. “This is going to be something we look at not just for weeks, but really for years.”he said.

Los Angeles County declares a public health emergency

Los Angeles County declared a local health emergency on Friday after several days of residents being exposed to smoke from the fires.

“The wildfires, combined with strong winds, have severely degraded air quality, releasing hazardous fumes and particulates, posing immediate and long-term risks to public health.”states a press release from the county’s public health department. “Additionally, the fires caused widespread displacement of residents, led to emergency evacuations of health care facilities, and disrupted vital health services and resources.”

The order applies to the entire county “due to the widespread presence of ash and particulate matter in the air across the region”officials said.