Image: Wildfires burning near Los Angeles, California, United States, January 2025. Credited to Getty Images and GDMatt66.

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Recently, AIHA’s chief science officer, Michele Twilley, DrPH, CIH, spoke with Enrique Medina, MS, CIH, CSP, FAIHA, about the health and safety issues related to the fires in the Greater Los Angeles area. This post, the second of two that present excerpts of Twilley’s conversation with Medina, covers challenges facing OEHS professionals responsible for workers and communities affected by the fires. A previous post addressed the hazards from the perspective of returning residents and those living downwind of the fire.

Medina is the editor of AIHA’s Technical Guide for Wildfire Impact Assessments for the OEHS Professional and the president and CEO of Alliance Consulting International in San Diego. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

This post is available in the January 2025 issue of The Synergist.