{"id":41296,"date":"2025-02-14T14:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T19:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?p=41296"},"modified":"2025-02-18T15:20:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:20:13","slug":"the-january-2025-california-wildfires-are-fully-contained-but-their-impacts-on-the-ocean-are-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/the-january-2025-california-wildfires-are-fully-contained-but-their-impacts-on-the-ocean-are-not\/","title":{"rendered":"The January 2025 California Wildfires are Fully Contained, But Their Impacts on the Ocean are Not"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 2025, a series of devastating wildfires hit Southern California. Lives were lost. Homes and businesses were destroyed. Families were displaced. The scale of the devastation is staggering. But the damage doesn\u2019t stop at the shoreline.<\/p>\n

This week, as Southern Californians are deluged with torrential downpours, harmful pollutants and toxic runoff from the fires could wash into local waters and put both marine life and local communities at risk.<\/p>\n

An Ecosystem at Risk <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The situation that continues to unfold off Southern California is a reminder of just how important the California coastline is. Fishing, tourism, and recreation alone provide nearly 600,000 jobs and contribute roughly $42.3 billion<\/a> to the state\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Unlike the rest of the U.S. West Coast, this complex seascape marries warm subtropical waters with cold nutrient-rich waters that upwell from the deep. When combined, it makes this region an epicenter of biodiversity often referred to as the \u201cBlue Serengeti.\u201d<\/p>\n

These waters include migratory routes and feeding destinations for endangered humpback and blue whales; nurseries for great white sharks; breeding and foraging habitats for California sea lions, brown pelicans, and giant seabass; gardens of colorful cold-water corals; and dense canopies of giant kelp forests.<\/p>\n

When the fires broke out, researchers from UC San Diego\u2019s Scripps Institution of Oceanography<\/a> and NOAA Fisheries\u2019 Southwest Fisheries Science Center were on the water. What did they see? Ash and debris coating the ocean surface as far as 100 miles offshore.<\/p>\n

As LA County public health officials warn people to stay away from fire debris and heavy ash, the species that call these waters home cannot escape these conditions.<\/p>\n

How Could This Affect Marine Life? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Smoke and ash from wildfires are linked to a number of serious health problems<\/a> in humans including heart disease, asthma, certain types of cancer, and dementia. But we know very little about the potential effects of wildfire runoff on marine life.<\/p>\n

Past studies<\/a> have found that ash from forest fires can sometimes boost the growth of certain phytoplankton, microscopic algae at the base of aquatic food webs. This could trigger harmful algal blooms, creating low oxygen dead zones where marine life cannot survive<\/a>. Plastics, heavy metals, asbestos, and more burned in the Los Angeles fires, bringing potentially more impacts on the environment and marine life.<\/p>\n

Here are some concerns scientists have flagged so far:<\/p>\n