Wildfire safety: Fire debris and asbestos

Volunteers and property owners going to fire-damaged buildings or debris piles need to take care to avoid exposing themselves to deadly asbestos.

The OSHA permissible exposure limit is not anywhere near zero, but simple precautions are reasonable.

First, paper dust masks offer little protection, as tiny asbestos fibers can only be seen with powerful microscopes, and go right through masks. These fibers are strong and our bodies are not able to destroy them after we breathe or ingest them.

Tight-fitting respirators with 100-level cartridges are readily available. For men with beards, powered air-purifying respirator hoods work great.

Misting materials with water with some soap or detergent added using a squirt bottle or garden sprayer greatly reduces the potential for airborne asbestos fiber release.

Asbestos was often used in most every part of buildings prior to the 1980s — asbestos was very common in the stucco, drywall joint compound and texture, ceiling texture, flooring, roofing, pipe and duct insulation, window putty and fireproofing on structural steel.

— F. Stephen Masek, Mission Viejo

What lessons have we learned from catastrophic wildfires?

The ongoing catastrophe of L.A. County fires brings out the best of human heroism and compassion.

It also brings out the anger and blaming of the catastrophe on human errors.

As I see it, the insurance companies have looked at the facts and probabilities of these fires occurring repeatedly.

The firefighting professionals predicted them also. Humbly, man can not prevent or minimize acts of God. i.e. nature. Earthquakes, volcanic lava flows, tsunamis, hurricanes are facts of life. If often enough and destructive enough in certain areas, man should acknowledge the danger and declare these areas uninhabitable.

Paradise California (two fires), Pacific Palisades (three fires) being the most recent examples along with the Hawaii fire and lava disasters.

If Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena want to rebuild, then it is at their own safety and financial risks.

Clearing wide swaths of vegetation and all the water in reservoirs are no match for fires fueled by years of drought and the wind.

— George Chung, Redlands