A prominent advocate for 9/11 victims is cautioning that last year’s devastating Palisades fire could lead to deadly respiratory illnesses for thousands — in a crisis as big as the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Michael Barasch, an attorney who represents thousands of 9/11 first responders and survivors, blasted California officials for not doing nearly enough to warn residents of the dangers of breathing in fumes from the raging, deadly blaze last year.
“We know how dangerous the LA wildfires were, and not once did they tell the citizens, wear respiratory protection, get out of Dodge,” he told The Post in an interview Wednesday. “Don’t let your kids be exposed to these toxins. And you know what? I think our government owes the citizens of Los Angeles, of California, the same rights that they’re giving the public safety officers.”
Barasch used to represent James Zadroga, a New York City Police Department officer who died of lung disease at just 34-years-old from toxic dust associated with 9/11. His death pushed Congress to create a fund called the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, which compensated 9/11 survivors and first responders.
Zadroga did not don the necessary respiratory protection to protect himself, which eventually led to his demise from the toxic fumes he breathed in without a filter. Barasch is concerned many Palisades survivors, uninformed of the risks of breathing in the air, will develop terminal illnesses in time because officials didn’t push the issue enough.
The Palisades fire devastated the community there and caused billions in damages. Los Angeles residents suffered the loss of nearly 13,000 homes in the area. Rebuilding in the charred area is still underway.
Barasch, who is a 9/11 cancer survivor himself, said he expects the survivors of the fire to unfortunately experience similar respiratory illnesses as the 2001 tragedy. He blamed California leaders, like Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for missing the boat on educating residents on how dangerous the fumes from the fires are.
“If you don’t learn from history, you’re condemned to repeat it, right? That’s exactly what’s happening now with the LA wildfires,” Barasch said, referencing the delayed response from New York officials on 9/11 related illnesses.
“Why don’t our legislators admit, ‘we should have told you how dangerous this was?'” he said.
Officials should have told residents who returned after the carnage to wear respiratory protection and have their homes cleaned by professionals.
“What a shame on them for not telling that to the people, because you’re going to see the same respiratory illnesses,” he added.
Barasch said there should also be a fund started for those affected by the Palisades fire, but officials need to at least urge LA residents to be checked out by a doctor for adverse health effects from the toxic fumes.
He’s unsure how large the fund would be — a similar New York fund granted thousands of dollars to 9/11 survivors with cancer — but he “eerily” sees parallels between the 9/11 and Palisades fire effects on survivors.
Barasch cited that certain cancers in New York and lower Manhattan had a 41% higher chance of occurring in survivors, and Los Angeles residents should be granted the chance to find out whether they are at an increased risk.
“Let them have independent studies by doctors and determine which cancers, which respiratory illnesses [people are at risk for],” he said.
“And then you worry about, how much is it going to cost to take care of these people. But there’s a moral obligation to do the right thing. Our government failed us. They didn’t tell us to wear respiratory protection when we went back to our homes, and as a result, people are sick, people are going to die. Mark my words,” Barasch ominously concluded.
Medical experts at the University of California – Los Angeles believe survivors are still dealing with the ramifications of the fires and that they’ve seen adverse effects well after the tragedy.
“This was a catastrophic event that changed much of Los Angeles — its community, its landscape and our health,”said David Eisenman, MD, professor-in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Fielding School of Public Health.
“We are, not surprisingly, still suffering the consequences in many ways,” he said. “Families have not returned to their homes, and high levels of pollutants remain in communities. It’s a tough place to be a year later.”
May-Lin Wilgus, MD, pulmonologist and associate clinical professor at UCLA Health, said most initial patients were people with preexisting lung conditions who faced exacerbated symptoms from the fires.
But then she saw people months later who did not seek medical care and then experienced worsened symptoms.
“Many individuals who followed up with me six months later also mentioned their symptoms flared with the fires,” she adds. “These patients often had continued exposures — such as returning to smoke-damaged homes or encountering high levels of heavy-metal contamination — so it does seem to be a trigger.”
