A home destroyed by the Eaton Fire (R) is seen next to another left intact in Altadena, California.
ZOE MEYERS/AFP via Getty Images
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ZOE MEYERS/AFP via Getty Images
A home destroyed by the Eaton Fire (R) is seen next to another left intact in Altadena, California.
ZOE MEYERS/AFP via Getty Images
As evacuation orders are lifted, people in Los Angeles are returning to their homes–if their homes survived. But the disaster doesn’t end when the fire stops.
A single block and a half separates the Altadena home of Jennifer and Ed Barguiarena from complete destruction. Just down the street lies charred, flattened debris.
But for families like the Barguiarenas — the seemingly lucky ones, whose houses survived — an altogether different ordeal is just beginning.
The water still isn’t safe to drink, cook or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and dust in people’s homes and yards. And families like the Barguiarenas are also worried about what they can’t see – the possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their homes.
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This episode was produced by Michael Leavitt and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Kwesi Lee.
It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
