The fires burned miles away — but the smoke plume drifted across the Westside and beyond, settling into buildings that never came near a flame. Yours could be one of them.
Six days, county-wide
These are real air-monitoring maps from the days the fires burned. Press play and watch the smoke bloom across Los Angeles — reaching Venice, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and far inland, miles from any flame.
Shaded brown shows smoke density; each dot is an air monitor, colored by fine-particle pollution (PM2.5). On Jan 8–9 the heaviest smoke and worst readings push right across the basin — including neighborhoods that never saw fire. Maps: Schollaert et al., 2025.
Why you might not know
Smoke doesn't have to be visible to settle into a building.
Once the haze lifted, most people assumed the danger left with it. But fine particles and ash work into structures, settle on surfaces, and collect in the gaps cleaning never reaches — quietly, with no smell and nothing to see. A building can look perfectly normal and still hold what the plume left behind.
Two ways to check today
Run a finger along the bottom track of a window or sliding door. Grey grit, or a film that lifts even after the window's been shut, is exactly where smoke settles — and where routine cleaning never reaches.
Inexpensive surface-wipe and dust kits let you sample those same spots — sills, tracks, entry floors — and send them to a lab. The difference between guessing and knowing what's on the surfaces inside.
Not sure which kit, where to sample, or how to read the results? We can walk you through it.
Find out where you stand
If the plume reached your block, your building deserves a closer look. We'll help you take it.
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