Three months after wildfires devastated portions of the Los Angeles County coast, testing appears to have confirmed that beaches avoided the worst of the impacts.
The Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced that the ocean water advisory in place from Las Flores State Beach to Santa Monica State Beach has been lifted.
Testing of water and sand performed at multiple points in January, February and March “revealed no chemicals related to wildfires at levels that are dangerous to human health,” the department said in a news release.
The department tested for “metals, nutrients, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are chemicals that may be found in water runoff based on previous California wildfires,” the release added.
Public Health officials warned that beachgoers are still advised to avoid fire debris in the water and on beaches, “as the fire debris may contain harmful substances and physical hazards such as glass, metal, and sharp wooden debris.”
For information on beach conditions, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov/beach or call 626-430-5360.