Wildfire Smoke and Ash Cleanup in Pacific Palisades

Two Palisades houses on the same street can need very different work. A house beside a burned block took smoke and embers for hours, then months of dust while the lots around it were cleared. A house farther downwind may carry a thin film of fine ash and an odor that comes and goes. LA County Public Health issued a health advisory for people living within 250 yards of a burned structure or parcel in or near the Palisades and Eaton burn areas, warning of greater exposure to ash, soot and debris until hazardous materials removal and debris removal were finished, and noting that wind can stretch that distance. So the first questions on a Palisades call are how close the nearest burned lot is and whether it has been cleared.

Clearing burned lots was a separate, government-run job. On January 15, 2025, the county Health Officer barred the cleanup and removal of fire debris and ash on burned properties until a hazardous materials inspection was done, and federal crews then removed hazardous materials first and the remaining debris second. We do not remove debris from burned lots. Our work is inside the houses that stood, and we time the last pass so excavators or new construction next door do not undo it. Where nearby work is still active, we can clean the rooms you need now, seal off the rest and come back for the final cleaning.

Testing is how a Palisades cleanup gets measured. Samples taken before we start show what is in the dust and where it settled, and a second round after we finish shows whether the house met the standard set at the start. That second round matters. In November 2025, Eaton Fire Residents United, an Altadena residents' group, reported on about 50 homes and found lead or asbestos in many of them after remediation was already done. Clearance sampling by an independent hygienist you choose, not by us, is what separates a house that looks clean from one that tested clean.

Odor is what owners notice first, and it has a chemical cause. A UCLA team sampled air in homes near the Palisades and Eaton fires from January 8 to February 18, 2025, and found that after the fires some homes held more benzene, toluene and related compounds indoors than outdoors, which the researchers traced to smoke-damaged materials giving off gas. A fragrance does nothing about that. The source has to come out: attic insulation that filtered smoke for hours, the air handler, the return plenum and the ducts, and porous finishes. We clean or remove the source first and deodorize after, and our technicians hold the IICRC odor control certification.

Soot is fine and acidic, and each finish takes it differently. Flat wall paint smears if it is wiped wet before the dry soot is lifted, so we HEPA vacuum and dry sponge first. Unsealed stone, grout and raw wood absorb residue and need slower methods. Window tracks, screens, light fixtures and the tops of cabinets and door frames hold ash nobody sees from the floor. Electronics pull air through themselves and collect residue inside. Clothing, bedding, rugs and books are cleaned off site or set aside with a photo and an inventory line, so nothing leaves the house without a record.

A Palisades job runs in a fixed order. We start with a free walkthrough and photographs of every room, the attic, the garage and the exterior before anything is touched. Next comes the testing plan, with the hygienist you choose. Then containment and HEPA air scrubbers go in, and the heating and cooling system is shut down and sealed until it is cleaned. We work attic first, then ceilings to floors, then contents, treat odor once the residue is out, and finish with clearance sampling and the photo record for you and your carrier.

If you have not been back inside yet, plan the first visit. Wear an N95 or better, leave the air conditioning and furnace off, and do not use a household or shop vacuum on ash, which county guidance says puts fine particles back into the air. Write down the date you returned and what you smelled. We document the house, estimate our own scope and can bill your carrier directly for our services. Whether testing or cleaning is paid is the carrier's decision, and coverage questions go to your carrier, your agent or a public adjuster; our article on AB 1795 covers the new state smoke damage laws that take effect on January 1, 2027. Our technicians hold IICRC certifications in fire and smoke restoration and odor control, and the first inspection is free.