Citing airborne contaminants and a lack of running water, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shut down the Altadena sheriff’s station Thursday in the aftermath of the Eaton fire.
A day earlier, sheriff’s officials sent an urgent message out to patrol cars, saying the air had become so toxic after days of wildfires that deputies should wear masks on the job and decontaminate their uniforms before stepping foot in their homes.
Then on Thursday, according to sheriff’s officials, the department received a letter from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health regarding a complaint about contamination.
“Employees are going back to work at the station and are worried about airborne contaminants from wildfire smoke,” the letter said, adding that regulators had not yet determined whether that was true and did not plan to conduct at inspection at this time.
The department said it is investigating the complaint and will report back to state regulators, which it has two weeks to do, according to the letter.
In the interim, the station captain decided to shutter the station as the department worked to get air purifiers, running water and other necessities.
The closure came a little more than a week after deputies first responded to reports of a Jan. 7 wildfire in Eaton Canyon, which killed at least 17 people and chewed through thousands of homes, businesses and historic buildings in unincorporated Altadena and nearby Pasadena.
Even in forested areas, wildfires create a wide array of pollutants that can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing respiratory issues and other health problems. But when blazes tear through certain other buildings — such as the local hardware store with its buckets of paint and chemical — the smoke contains additional toxins, including the lead and asbestos that sheriff’s officials warned of in Wednesday’s message.
A day after it began, the Eaton fire came so close to burning the sheriff’s station on East Altadena Drive that deputies were forced to evacuate with whatever they could carry — guns, body cameras and mementos from the 1948 building.
The park across the street, the shrubs around the station and even the California flag flying overhead all burned in the heat and flames.
But, after initially relocating to the nearby Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station, deputies soon returned to the station, even though the lack of running water meant they had to use portable toilets set up in the parking lot.
“As someone who worked at the Altadena sheriff’s station for years, I can tell you the deputies assigned there are emotionally invested in the community and heartbroken over the devastation they’ve witnessed,” Richard Pippin, president of the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, said Friday afternoon. “They will continue working tirelessly to serve the community in terrible conditions, whether or not they have access to things like running water and electricity.”
But, the union president continued, the sheriff’s station – along with the fire station and schools – should be one of the first things to be repaired.
“I sincerely hope our elected officials realize the importance of investing in these critical pieces of infrastructure and the public’s safety,” he added.
The Sheriff’s Department said it has supplied masks to all staff working near wildfires and that there are goggles available for eye protection.
“In addition, personnel were authorized to wear their cotton-based cloth uniforms to facilitate easier cleaning and minimize the risk of contamination,” sheriff’s officials said Friday. “The department continues to explore resources and equipment to ensure the safety of our personnel working on these devastating wildfires.”
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