"Wind blown ash particles may be too large to be picked up by our regular instruments and will not influence the AQI measurements that we pointed folks to look at for air quality," said Nichole Quick, Chief Medical Advisor for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. "So it's important to look for ash in air and on equipment and on your surroundings."
Experts are scrambling to learn more about the potential contaminants hidden in ash particles and other particles entering the atmosphere.
In the meantime, experts say a good rule of thumb is to wear a mask if you see ash or can see or smell smoke.
"There's still a lot of hazards," said Adam Van Gerpen, a hazmat specialist and fire captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department. Van Gerpen said hazmat teams are looking for "unusual thermal patterns" and testing for carbon dioxide, which could be a sign of dangerous hydrochloric acid.
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