In the year following the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles, engineers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have continued efforts to address fire recovery and develop strategies for future wildfire mitigation. Their work has included field reconnaissance, soil and water testing, infrastructure mapping, and ongoing research into the effects of wildfires on communities and the environment.
Civil and environmental engineering associate professor Sanjay Mohanty led a team through the Community Action Project Los Angeles (CAP.LA) to collect and analyze soil samples from over 1,000 residential properties affected by the fires. The team found that about 40% of homes in Altadena and other areas impacted by the Eaton Fire had lead levels above California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control safety threshold for residential soil. In the Palisades area, roughly 10% of samples exceeded recommended levels. Public parks and beach sand were also tested, with most showing low or near-threshold concentrations.
Mohanty’s project is supported by grants from private foundations as well as UCLA. He stated, “I am particularly grateful to be part of this effort to serve the community that I call my home,” adding appreciation for volunteers involved in the project. “We will continue to work tirelessly until we have tested most homes with the limited resources available and engage the community in the next step — how to remediate contaminated soil, if any, so that families can safely live on affected properties.” He is also investigating whether compost or mulch could help bind metals in contaminated soils.
Professor Jennifer Jay has partnered with colleagues at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and local organizations to provide free soil testing at pop-up events through the LA Urban Soil Social Impact Collaborative. At an event in October, more than 80 Pasadena residents participated, submitting over 200 samples for heavy metal analysis. Jay is also collaborating with Heal the Bay on coastal water quality studies.
Geotechnical impacts were examined by faculty members Idil Akin, Scott Brandenberg, and Jonathan Stewart. Their team began collecting data while fires were still active using aerial drones, then conducted further site visits after containment and spring rains. They focused on critical infrastructure such as roads and utilities. The group included experts from several universities, government agencies, and private firms. Their findings were published in a report for the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Akin’s research group installed sensors along hillsides in the Palisades to monitor long-term hydrological changes that could affect landslide or erosion risk over several years. “Our broader goal is to understand the initiation mechanisms of post-wildfire sediment movement during the recovery period after a wildfire,” Akin said. “This will help us develop regional post-wildfire erosion, landslide and debris flow models.”
Jiaqi Ma, director of UCLA’s Mobility Center of Excellence, worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers using a digital model of Los Angeles to optimize debris removal logistics after the fires. His team shared their technical findings at a major transportation systems conference last November.
Julio Guerra, a civil engineering doctoral student involved in fieldwork since shortly after the fires stated: “Often, we believe we are safe from these events and consider them distant from everyday life; however, when they occur, it is difficult to anticipate the full range of consequences they may have on our lives, families and economies.”
The University of California Los Angeles functions as a public research university focused on education, research and public service across diverse academic programs according to its official website. The institution emphasizes creating knowledge for societal benefit while fostering diversity within its community.
UCLA Samueli engineers plan to continue applying field observations toward practical solutions supporting both agencies and local residents affected by wildfires. “Wildfires are very common in our region, and I hope that our work will ultimately help minimize the cascading effects of wildfires on our community,” Akin said.
Updates on these ongoing projects will be posted on UCLA Samueli’s Rebuild LA page as new information becomes available.
