With fire burning nearby, students hold their breath


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With the smoke from the Station fire highly visible from USC’s campus, officials are warning of the health issues the fires could cause for students.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has issued five air-quality alerts since the fire began. The alerts warn children, the elderly and those with heart and respiratory diseases to be especially cautious and not go outside.

Fire flight · A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter drops gallons of water in the Big Tujunga Canyon in Sunland in an attempt to control the rapidly expanding blaze, which has spread over 105,000 acres. - Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan

Fire flight · A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter drops gallons of water in the Big Tujunga Canyon in Sunland in an attempt to control the rapidly expanding blaze, which has spread over 105,000 acres. - Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan

Los Angeles County health authorities are also telling residents to stay inside and avoid outdoor activities because of air polluted by wildfire smoke and ash.

“Even if there’s no visible smoke or odor, the air quality is not good for sensitive individuals throughout the entire county,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Though many schools around Los Angeles — including in Altadena, La Canada, Flintridge, La Crescenta, Tujunga and Sunland — have suspended outdoor activities, USC has not issued any official precaution to suspend outdoor activities and the USC football scrimmage occurred as scheduled on Saturday.

“Nobody has mentioned any kind of air-quality issues that need to be addressed in that way,” said James Grant, executive director of USC media relations.

Still, some USC athletes have taken it upon themselves to avoid training outdoors. USC Triathlon team member Anthony So sent an email out to all the triathlon members advising them not to train over the weekend, or to instead work out at the beach where the air is cleaner.

“Training in such poor air quality does nothing to help the body,” said So, a senior majoring in theatre. “There is no such thing as resistance training for your lung capacity via smoke and ash inhalation.”

Triathlon team member Natalie Hwang did not heed her teammate’s warning until she was in the middle of her workout.

“I was planning on riding up to Griffith Park but when I got halfway to Griffith Park and I still couldn’t see the observatory, I decided my lungs shouldn’t be taking in that air,” said Hwang, a junior majoring in engineering.

Some students are experiencing allergies and asthma irritation.

“The first day of the fires I sneezed a lot,” said Andrea Santos, a junior majoring in theatre. “I would get out of class and I’d be riding my bike and I’d have to stop…so that I wouldn’t crash.”

Rebecca Suzuki, a sophomore majoring in stage management, had adolescent asthma and has been experiencing recurring symptoms since the fire began.

“In the morning I walked out and it was kind of smoky and you couldn’t see as well and it smelled really strong,” Suzuki said. “I really try to avoid the air when it’s this poor quality.”

Fielding held a conference call Thursday to discuss air quality and heat concerns. According to Fielding, high temperatures and low winds have worsened the air quality, pushing smoke closer to the ground and not allowing it to escape from the basin.

“The greatest concern is that the smoke is composed largely of very small particles that can go deep into the lung tissue,” Fielding said. “The particles cause irritation … Eye irritation and coughing and can exacerbate asthma attacks and those are the ones that can lead to bronchitis or other respiratory problems.”