Researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles are using AccuWeather data to help improve care and study the impacts of the historic wildfires in January.
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00:00Accurators, Bill Waddell was at the catastrophic wildfires that ripped through Southern California in January.
00:05He's back this morning in Altadena.
00:07Bill, those fires have had a major impact on the economy and on public health.
00:14Yeah, Ariella, Bernie, good morning, absolutely.
00:17It's tough to see what this community looks like several months after those wildfires back in January.
00:22There are thousands of homes and businesses across Altadena that just look like this one, burned down to the ground, collapsed even to the basement in some cases.
00:33All of these buildings were destroyed by the fast-moving flames and embers that were carried by extreme wind gusts that reached 60 to 90 miles an hour back in January.
00:44Now, our nation has been hit incredibly hard with extreme weather disasters so far this year.
00:51AccuWeather experts estimate that the Los Angeles County wildfires here in January caused a total damage and economic loss estimated at $250 billion to $275 billion.
01:05And, of course, we also dealt with the tornado outbreaks and the flooding in the central U.S. just a few weeks ago.
01:11And earlier this year, we also dealt with a historic winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and snow to parts of the Gulf Coast and the southeast.
01:19Now, the January wildfires here in Southern California, the toxic smoke and the stress of warnings and evacuations had a major impact on public health.
01:30Homes, businesses, vehicles, batteries, and even plastics that burned in the fires released tons of toxic materials into the air, the ground, and likely even waterways that flow to the Pacific.
01:42Work is underway right now to haul out wildfire debris and clean up the hazardous mess left behind here in Altadena.
01:48AccuWeather launched a one-of-its-kind partnership with Children's Hospital Los Angeles last year.
01:54They're using AccuWeather air quality, weather, and environmental data to study the impacts that wildfires smoke and poor air quality are having on kids.
02:03Dr. Jonathan Tan says that data and collaboration made a big difference during the January wildfires, and it will be studied for years to come.
02:12I think this is a defining moment. I think the weather, as we all know, is changing, and the climate's changing, the environment's changing.
02:20And now, for the first time, we have access to information, to data, through this partnership.
02:25We've been taking the data about the weather, climate, environmental changes, and we're bringing that right into our hospital system so we can do research.
02:33That research will then drive clinical care, that will then drive policy and advocacy changes.
02:39No other Children's Hospital is doing this across the United States.
02:42The immediate and the long-term medical costs from injuries and exposure to wildfire smoke and unhealthy air quality,
02:51those are just a few of the many factors that are included in AccuWeather's preliminary estimate of $250 billion to $275 billion in total damage and economic loss from these wildfires.
03:05Now, Dr. Tan tells us that this project in collaboration with AccuWeather using our data not only is helping with the immediate health care during and after disasters,
03:15like the wildfires we saw here in January, but the proactive decisions to help families and preventative care,
03:21that can help minimize and reduce the long-term health care costs for these families, especially the kids exposed to these fires.
03:29Bernie and Ariella, this is really an incredible collaboration.
03:32We're proud to be a part of it with Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and it's going to be very interesting over the years and decades to come
03:38because, again, Dr. Tan says this is going to be the first case where we're going to see all of this real-time data and the impacts from children as they're young
03:45and what all of the impacts from these fires and the smoke are doing through their teenage and young adult years.
03:51And that number that you cited, the $250 to $275 billion in losses, not only the long-term health effects that you were just talking about,
04:02but I see you standing in front of rubble that was over three months ago.
04:07Is this fire still having an impact on the local economy some three months later?
04:16Local economy, absolutely. I've only seen a few people out here.
04:19There are folks that still live just a few blocks away from here.
04:22Their homes made it through the fire, and right next door, right across the street, they're dealing with this.
04:27So not nearly as much traffic as you would expect to see in the morning with people heading to work, obviously,
04:32because so many people lost their homes or their places of work.
04:36And there is an extensive cleanup and recovery operation underway.
04:39Of course, it's very expensive.
04:41We know that these fires are contributing to the insurance crisis in the United States.
04:46It's tougher to get insurance. It's costing families more money.
04:49Obviously, there's a ripple effect with local businesses.
04:51But I will say I have been impressed in some spots to see the recovery and progress already,
04:56where crews have already cleared the properties.
04:58They've been able to remove not just all of this debris,
05:00but they dig down in the soil to try and get out as much of the hazardous material as possible.
05:05That's in a few spots where they're making progress.
05:07But you can see here in Altadena, there are still months and years of work ahead.
05:11You can see here in Altadena, there are still months and years of work ahead.