Cleanups are underway after the devastating Eaton and Palisade fires, but one ongoing concern is the swimming pools in two burning areas, many of which contain stagnant water that has become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that can carry disease.
In areas affected by the Eaton fire, officials in charge of mosquito control said they did not provide enough funds for the current possible mosquito sockets. This has attracted public health concerns, with the region recently raising public health concerns among locally acquired dengue fever cases, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease.
In mid-May, the San Gabriel Valley mosquito and vector control zone serving Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre identified about 1,475 swimming pools in the Bourne district, meaning they were stagnant due to ash and debris, damaged equipment, damaged equipment, or powerlessness of homeowners. Most of the pools are located in Altadena, and so far the area has been able to treat half of them with pesticides.
The agency said it should be able to treat its other half with the resources it can use, but lacks funds to provide two follow-up applications Experts say it needs to continue to avoid avoiding mosquito breeding throughout the year.
Indeed, officials found that in about 700 pools in the burning area so far, about 80% of mosquitoes have bred. Within a month, a swimming pool can become a breeding ground for up to 3 million mosquitoes in one month.
"This is a public health issue. If it is not resolved, it will be a risk. The vector control area is a local agency that manages small animals with dispersed diseases like mosquitoes."
Place mosquitoes on or near stagnant water. When they hatch, young people develop in the water and then become a buzzing adult.
Diaz said district officials have spent $307,000 to pesticide treatment on half of the 1,475 affected swimming pools, mainly around Bourne's scars.
District officials had planned to use the money to deal with expected cases of dengue, a viral infection transmitted by invasive mosquitoes. Last year, the region saw 11 local dengue cases, more than anywhere else in the state.
Diaz said emergency reserves were not completely phased out, but the region needs to keep funds in its stockpiles in case of a disease strike.
So, district officials said they made an additional $302,000 request to the Los Angeles County Emergency Management Office and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to cover the initial pesticide treatment costs for more than 700 untreated pools and pay two follow-up treatment costs for all 1,475 pools.
The district spokesman Pablo Cabrera approved part of the request on Thursday. Details and the dollar amount are still finalized, but district officials say it is sufficient to apply pesticides to the pools in the burning zone without treatment. It will not cover the two subsequent treatments.
Media control officials began treatment for the first round of pools in mid-March. Each pesticide treatment controls mosquito larvae for up to 90 days - so treatments for these initial pools will wear out around mid-June, usually at the height of the mosquito season. The plan is to complete the remaining pool by the end of June.
According to Cabrera, current resources will allow mosquitoes to reproduce “full control”. What happens next will depend on what kind of financial support the region will continue to move forward.
"We would love to have this kind of funding so we can be able to do these other treatments. That's what we want to do," Diaz said. "But we didn't build in a way that could cover the area and then continue vector control work throughout the San Gabriel Valley."
Ed Chapuis, a spokesman for the California Governor’s Office, said in a statement that the state is providing resources for emergency treatment and will continue to work with the region. He said state and/or federal disaster aid funds could be exploited.
He said the agency “will continue to provide support to the region to ensure that they do not delay their efforts to address public safety.”
Officials from the county’s emergency management office said their role is simply to connect state and local agencies.
San Gabriel Valley area officials have requested a $500,000 budget in mosquito control efforts in 2026 and beyond. They also seek reimbursement to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in search of fees incurred while addressing the first pools.
Officials said the area has strengthened surveillance of burn areas and will use its means as proactively as possible.
The coastal community in which the devastating Palisades fire in January was also similar to the less impactful pool.
According to the Western Los Angeles County Vehicle Control District, a survey of the burn area showed that mosquitoes can reproduce more than 1,700 packages. The area serves the western part of the city of Los Angeles, including the Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
The area executive director Aaron Arugay said in an email that the pool needs to be "dry, clean, filtered" to prevent breeding, and that some preliminary inspections have been made forward. He said some mosquitoes were seen reproductive in the problem pool and were treated.
"It will be a project going on for the whole season due to the number of packages," Arugay said.
It was an unexpected task, but Arugay said he did not foresee the problem of drawing on the region’s budget and preparing to pay for the season. The program is to allow temporary seasonal staff to help in the summer and fall.
Invasive mosquitoes in this area are called Egypt EgyptIt was behind the “unprecedented” local spread of dengue last year in Los Angeles County.
Last year, the county had 14 local dengue cases, including 11 within the footprint of the San Gabriel Valley vector control area. Just two years ago, the state’s first known local dengue acquisition occurred in the region among its residents in Pasadena.
Symptoms of dengue may include joint and muscle pain, severe headaches, and bleeding under the skin. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, more than one-third of Los Angeles County residents needed to be hospitalized last year.
The locals are currently paying special attention to Culex Diaz said mosquitoes can spread the deadly West Nile virus. This species constitutes the majority of the mosquito population in the region, and its seasons are usually more Eds mosquito.
The West Nile causes severe and potentially fatal cerebral inflammation,,,,, Among other serious problems. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in 2024, there were 35 confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Los Angeles County, including 27 hospitalizations and 2 deaths.
Culex Mosquitoes are usually targeted at birds rather than humans Eds mosquito. this Eds Mosquitoes are known for their ankle biting during the day and often hit multiple times in a row.
this Egypt Egypt The mosquito species arrived in California a decade ago and have since spread to more than one-third of the state and county. Media control officials are trying to defeat the scourge, which is inspiring due to unsatisfied residents and fears that spike disease begins to come true.
In recent years, some local areas have launched pilot programs that require the release of sterile male mosquitoes to reduce the population, which is a relatively new way to solve these mosquitoes.
Early data showed that the mosquito population decreased by nearly 82% last year in a study area in Los Angeles County. (Males don't bite, so they don't contribute to itchy hair or disease transmission.)
Diaz said the approach appears to be attracting, with the San Gabriel Valley vector control area planning to launch a similar plan next year.
The Greater Los Angeles County Media Control District, which covers the largest portion of the county, is now measuring whether its homeowners pay up to $20 a year to expand their sterile male release program. Diaz said the San Gabriel Valley area may seek additional funding from its owners in 2027.
This effort has exacerbated the urgency in the rise of dengue. As the mosquito season has prolonged in warm temperatures in recent years, some blood attractors now continue until December in parts of the southern country.
On the plus side, recent lower temperatures slowed down the life cycle of insects in the Eaton fire burning zone, with mosquito abundance levels below average. But Mercury is expected to rise.