> At a Glance
> – Families spared by 2025 wildfires now fight insurers over toxic smoke residue
> – Testing found lead 800× EPA limits, cyanide and arsenic inside “untouched” houses
> – California has no state/federal cleanup standards for urban-fire chemicals
> – Why it matters: Homeowners forced to gamble with long-term health as claims stall
One year after the Palisades and Eaton fires, families whose houses escaped the flames are discovering the air inside can be just as dangerous. Insurers are rejecting costly decontamination, leaving residents unsure if their homes are safe.
Toxic Legacy Inside “Lucky” Houses
Tim Szwarc and Claire Thompson breathed easy when they saw their Altadena house still standing. That relief vanished when testing revealed contamination far beyond wildfire norms.
“It’s challenging because there’s not really a roadmap on how you remediate a home as toxic as ours,” Thompson said.
Industrial hygienist Dawn Bolstad-Johnson has now assessed 100+ homes hit by the LA fires. She traces the problem to what actually burned: solar panels, cars, lithium batteries, plastics-a petroleum-fed blaze, not trees and brush.
Insurance Runaround
Szwarc and Thompson’s first adjuster recommended stripping drywall, plaster and insulation. A replacement adjuster later reversed that, claiming photos showed the house looked “pristine.”
> “You can’t see toxins in a photo,” Thompson countered.
They’re still waiting-no insurance representative has visited since January 2025.
Multiple homeowners told News Of Los Angeles off-camera they face the same cycle:
- Repeated adjuster swaps
- Testing and cleaning denied
- Months with no resolution
Some now say they wish the fire had simply destroyed everything.
Regulatory Vacuum
California’s 13-member Smoke Claims Task Force, created in May 2025, includes zero environmental scientists or toxicologists. Commissioner Ricardo Lara promised retroactive legislation but admitted no cleanup standards exist yet.
> “We’re going to make it retroactive to make sure that they’re covered,” Lara pledged.
Bolstad-Johnson says peer-reviewed guidance already exists in the National Academies report The Chemistry of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Key Takeaways
- 5,000+ Palisades homes and 9,400 Eaton homes burned, spreading novel chemical hazards
- Hurricane-force winds drove toxic particles through attics, vents and every crack
- Homeowners must decide whether to keep heirlooms or protect long-term health
- Without enforceable standards, insurers can delay or deny costly remediation
Families like Szwarc and Thompson remain in limbo, forced to choose between financial survival and potential exposure to lead, arsenic and cyanide lingering inside the walls.
