{"id":5048,"date":"2025-08-23T22:54:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T22:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?p=5048"},"modified":"2025-10-09T23:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:11:24","slug":"l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n
\"a
At the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, CA, participants use crushed oyster shells and mulch to prepare “filter socks” that will be used to help remediate the soil at their fire-damaged properties. (Photo: Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Original story by Lila Seidman<\/em><\/p>\n

Serina Diniega always wanted to plant an avocado tree at her Altadena home, but now she worries the creamy green fruit might pose a threat.<\/p>\n

Her yard was scorched in the Eaton fire as her block went up in flames. The planetary scientist\u2019s house survived, but unseen contaminants could be lurking in the soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I do to keep that tree healthy, hopefully be able to eat the fruit a number of years down the line without worrying about whether or not I\u2019m poisoning my family?\u201d she wondered. The internet was full of opinions, but science was scarce.<\/p>\n

So when a DIY soil detoxification workshop came up at a local nursery, she jumped on it. Many others did too; roughly 40 people were waitlisted for the three-hour class led by\u00a0SoilWise<\/span><\/a>, a landscaping, education and consulting business. Once a niche subject, the firestorms of January have put a spotlight on soil health, as residents wonder if their yards are safe for their children to play or if their home-grown tomatoes are OK to eat.<\/p>\n

Learning how plants, compost and other materials combat contamination can be a source of empowerment in the face of disasters that are beyond individual control, and proponents say the approach is more environmentally friendly than conventional alternatives. For some, the tools are also a backstop against inadequate government help.<\/p>\n

After the Eaton and Palisades blazes, federal and state disaster agencies\u00a0refused to pay to test soil for contaminants<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on scorched lots \u2014 a practice\u00a0employed in virtually all wildfire recoveries<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the recent past.<\/p>\n

So researchers with USC in March began to\u00a0offer the service<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to L.A. County residents. The free program has focused on screening for lead, a potent neurotoxin that\u2019s especially dangerous for kids.<\/p>\n

So far, most of the roughly 3,000 samples residents have submitted fall below California\u2019s level of potential concern, 80 parts per million.<\/p>\n

But a substantial proportion are above that. Some are\u00a0even in 1,000s<\/span><\/a>, which the state classifies as hazardous waste.<\/p>\n

Lead poses a bigger problem in Altadena than in Pacific Palisades, largely\u00a0because of the former\u2019s overall older housing stock<\/span><\/a>, built when homes were coated in leaded paint, said Josh West<\/a>, a professor of earth sciences and environmental studies<\/a> at USC.<\/p>\n

Yet Palisades residents generally have more money to deal with cleanup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe burden that people in Altadena are facing is a much greater proportion of their average income,\u201d West said.<\/p>\n

Read the full story on the L.A. Times website >><\/a><\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/h3>\n

Empowering Resilience: Community science in the wake of the 2025 Los Angeles fires >><\/a><\/p>\n

Long Live the Fire Fish: USC Sea Grant helps save endangered fish during wildfires >><\/a><\/p>\n

From the Experts: Wrigley Institute faculty explain January 2025 wildfire issues >><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":5049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[72,9,16,66],"class_list":["post-5048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engagement","tag-earth-sciences","tag-environmental-studies","tag-faculty","tag-wildfire"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nL.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil - Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop-1024x683.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kathryn Royster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kathryn Royster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e\"},\"headline\":\"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\"},\"wordCount\":10,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Earth sciences\",\"environmental studies\",\"faculty\",\"wildfire\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Engagement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\",\"name\":\"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil - Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png\",\"width\":1634,\"height\":1090,\"caption\":\"At the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, CA, participants use crushed oyster shells and mulch to prepare \\\"filter socks\\\" that will be used to help remediate the soil at their fire-damaged properties. (Photo: Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/\",\"name\":\"Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability\",\"description\":\"Creating a more sustainable and environmentally just future for our planet and all who live on it\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e\",\"name\":\"Kathryn Royster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac60c28082a9a6538663bfb0e8a3752867648c099100b2aa9409599b67af4b16?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac60c28082a9a6538663bfb0e8a3752867648c099100b2aa9409599b67af4b16?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kathryn Royster\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/author\/kroyster\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil - Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/","og_site_name":"Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability","article_published_time":"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop-1024x683.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kathryn Royster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/"},"author":{"name":"Kathryn Royster","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e"},"headline":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil","datePublished":"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/"},"wordCount":10,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png","keywords":["Earth sciences","environmental studies","faculty","wildfire"],"articleSection":["Engagement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/","name":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil - Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png","datePublished":"2025-08-23T22:54:40+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-09T23:11:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/116\/2025\/10\/fire-remediation-workshop.png","width":1634,"height":1090,"caption":"At the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley, CA, participants use crushed oyster shells and mulch to prepare \"filter socks\" that will be used to help remediate the soil at their fire-damaged properties. (Photo: Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/2025\/08\/23\/l-a-residents-turn-to-nature-to-clean-fire-tainted-soil\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"L.A. residents turn to nature to clean fire-tainted soil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/","name":"Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability","description":"Creating a more sustainable and environmentally just future for our planet and all who live on it","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/8d145e5d8f50e29acee6ca512632733e","name":"Kathryn Royster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac60c28082a9a6538663bfb0e8a3752867648c099100b2aa9409599b67af4b16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ac60c28082a9a6538663bfb0e8a3752867648c099100b2aa9409599b67af4b16?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kathryn Royster"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/author\/kroyster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5048"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5050,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5048\/revisions\/5050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}