This article is published in collaboration with L.A. Public Press, an independent, non-profit newsroom that publishes news in support of a healthier Los Angeles.
The backyard fruit tree is ubiquitous across Southern California. Oranges, lemons, avocados, kumquats, loquats, pomegranates — chances are you or someone you know has at least one of these growing in their yard right now and have happily (or desperately) shared harvests with friends, family, and colleagues.
But with so much wildfire ash and smoke flung across the LA Basin that the LA County public health officials temporarily prohibited the use of leaf blowers, home gardeners may be wondering: Can I eat my homegrown produce?
The short answer is yes—with precautions.
“People had the exact same question in the North Bay in 2017,” said Julia Van Soelen Kim, food systems advisor for the UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County. That year’s Tubbs Fire became California’s most destructive at the time. “It was the first really big urban fire with thousands of structures that were destroyed, so that, in its very nature, is different from a typical wildland forest fire,” she said.
Since then, researchers in California are increasingly studying the impact of urban wildfires on soil and produce safety. It’s still early days for the field, but with the Eaton Fire now more destructive than the Tubbs Fire, and the Palisades Fire getting close, interest may only grow.
For now, here are a few tips for home and community gardeners:
That’s some nasty, nasty ash
“Minimizing exposure to ash is the number one consideration,” Van Soelen Kim said.
The Santa Anas are carrying ashes (and burnt book pages) to many doorsteps across LA, and those ashes contain toxins like asbestos and lead. The county public health department has warned about the dangers of inhaling the ash.
But Van Soelen Kim said the mere presence of wildfire ash in your garden and on your produce does not necessarily mean it’s inedible. A 2019 study she conducted with colleagues in Northern California found that produce may be safe to consume after careful decontamination.
It’s up to gardeners to decide if it’s worth it for themselves and loved ones.
Assess your risk
Erika Crenshaw and Patricia Torres do not agree on whether to eat the produce in their plot at the El Sereno Community Garden.
“I personally am not eating anything out of our garden right now. It’s just not worth it,” Torres said. “Because for me, there’s a layer of ash on things.”
Crenshaw is taking it on more of a case-by-case basis. For instance, she doesn’t plan to eat the lettuces — “It’s so fragile,” she said — but oranges she’d consider because of their thicker rind.
Crenshaw and Torres have each essentially assessed their own risk and found their level of comfort. Van Soelen Kim said that initial risk assessment is key.
Gardeners might consider the following:
- Who you are: Consider age (e.g., very old or very young), health conditions, and pregnancy. Sensitive populations may feel uncomfortable taking a risk on produce after wildfire.
- Where you are: The closer to the fires and burned areas, the more ash may be present. If plants or fruits were scorched or burned by wildfire, or if they’ve been blackened by soot, you’ll want to dispose of them completely. But even considering the ash, you may live in an area where the air and soil has so many other existing factors that may affect your produce that wildfire ash and smoke is just one of many.
- Alternative sources: Do you have access to other healthy produce? Would you otherwise go without? For many Angelenos, gardening is not just a hobby but a way to provide healthy nourishment for their families.
“I’d encourage people to really think about their unique context and whether it makes sense for them to eat the produce and be aware that there’s the potential for contamination,” Van Soelen Kim said.
If you’re gonna eat it, you should decontaminate
So you’ve done a risk assessment and decided, yeah, I’m taking my chances on this fruit/veggie/leafy green. The next step is to use a few best practices to decontaminate your produce:
- Protect your lungs by wearing an N95 or better mask
- Wash your hands before and after, and if possible, wear gloves (“Part of how people ingest toxins and contaminants is hand to mouth,” Van Soelen said.)
- Gently rinse the produce outdoors with water, either in a bucket or with a hose
- Remove contaminated clothes outdoors — don’t track it inside
- Rinse and rub produce under cool running water indoors, removing dirt and ash
“The nice thing about post-fire produce safety is that it’s consistent with best practices day-to-day,” Van Soelen Kim says.
Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture
“Wildfires are scary for everyone,” Van Soelen Kim said, her voice trembling. “Urban wildfires impact communities so deeply […] Other communities are right there with our hearts in LA.”
She said the act of showing up for each other in a disaster, including by bringing home- or community-grown food to neighbors, is an important way to show up for each other at a traumatic time. Many, she said, will decide it’s a risk worth taking.
“If they’re going to get some pleasure from eating that avocado or sharing those oranges with their neighbor, I’d encourage people to lean into community first and not worry too much about the potential risk of exposure beyond common sense,” Van Soelen Kim said.
Crenshaw and Torres have only just begun to think about how they’re going to deal with the ash in their garden. In addition to their involvement with the El Sereno Community Garden, of which Crenshaw is co-chair, the couple also owns and runs El Sereno GreenGrocer, a small market that has quickly become a community hub.
Despite announcing plans to shutter the store at the end of this month for financial reasons, they nonetheless sprung to action when the fires hit, providing free produce for people affected by the fires.
“We didn’t even think about [the garden] because it’s been hectic,” Torres says. “Now it’s like, ‘Oh shit, our garden.’”
Crenshaw said the garden’s 50 members will meet soon to discuss plans for ash cleanup and soil analysis and remediation.
“Our garden is going to be fine,” she says. “Nature is going to be fine.”
