From Jan From Jan 7-31, 2025, the highly destructive Palisades fire burned in the Santa Monica Mountains, consuming about 96 square kilometers of wildlands and built structures immediately adjacent to the California Current marine ecosystem.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of Phos-Chek fire retardant (ammonium phosphate) were deposited to fight the fire. On Jan 26-27, Feb 5-6, and Feb 12-15, significant rain washed ash, debris, and fire retardant into the ocean either directly or
indirectly via creeks, groundwater, and sewer outflows. How will these sudden, massive inputs impact natural marine microbial communities in the Santa Monica Bay and beyond?
We mobilized to study this event beginning in mid January with high resolution temporal sampling (continuously every other day) from Santa Monica Pier. We have also been working with Heal the Bay and
Surfrider LA to sample Malibu beaches, including those directly interacting with fire debris/sorting sites and creeks that collect outflow from burn areas.
We are looking forward to learning more about how marine microbial communities respond to short term nutrient impacts and helping
local communities understand the full effects of these devastating fires on marine ecosystems in Los Angeles.
For our most recent updates, check out our instagram page
Noelle Held
Assistant Professor, USC Department of Biological Sciences, Marine and Environmental Biology Section
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