Cleanup efforts following the Eaton and Palisades fires have revealed a significant public health concern related to stagnant swimming pools in affected areas. Many pools are classified as 'nonfunctional,' promoting mosquito breeding, especially in a region encountering recent dengue fever cases. The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District identified 1,475 stagnant pools but lacks funding for adequate treatments. With 80% of treated pools breeding mosquitoes, officials warn of potential health risks if necessary preventive measures are not taken.
Cleanup efforts following the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires are underway, but an ongoing concern is swimming pools in the two burn zones, many of which contain stagnant water that has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes that can carry diseases.
In mid-May, the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District identified some 1,475 pools in the burn zone as 'nonfunctional'—meaning they contained stagnant water due to ash and debris, damaged equipment, or the homeowner's inability to maintain the pool at the moment.
Officials found mosquitoes breeding in roughly 80% of the approximately 700 pools in the burn area that they treated with pesticides to date. A single swimming pool can become a breeding ground for as many as 3 million mosquitoes in one month.
'This is a public health concern. It will be a risk if it doesn't get addressed,' said Anais Medina Diaz, spokesperson for the San Gabriel Valley vector control district.
Collection
[
|
...
]