In this limited series, find out what Caltech scientists on campus and at JPL are learning, as they’re learning it.

In this episode, you’ll hear about the air and soil data scientists collected and analyzed during and after the fires and how that can help us understand potential health risks.

This episode was produced by the Caltech Office of Strategic Communications and Caltech Academic Media Technologies, in partnership with the Keck Institute for Space Studies, Resnick Sustainability Institute, and the Linde Center for Global Environmental Sciences.

Learn more at scienceexchange.caltech.edu.

Resources mentioned:

Caltech Post-fire airborne Hazard Observation Environmental Network for Integrated Xposure-monitoring (PHOENIX) real-time map of Altadena/Pasadena air quality

ASCENT Network real-time air quality data

AQMD's AQI map (Today's forecast) (Tomorrow's forecast)

Fire AirNow

Clips used:

“The City That Disappears,” 1957
Stanford Research Institute via Periscope Film

“Air Pollution In LA At Its Worst,” 2014
David Hoffman

“Palisades, Eaton Fires grow as crews battle deadly blazes,” January 11, 2025
KTLA5 Los Angeles

“ABC TV reporter battles ‘vicious’ winds amid LA fires,” January 8, 2025
ABC News

Produced by Alyce Torrice/Caltech Office of Communications and External Relations

© California Institute of Technology, 2025