Arlington Garden in Pasadena welcomes everyone to connect to the natural world through visiting, volunteering, and on-site learning. Because we want everyone to feel welcome, it is important to us that our visitors and volunteers be comfortable and stay healthy in the garden.
There have been concerns in the media, from experts, and among some community members that potentially harmful levels of contaminants might have settled in areas outside of the Eaton Fire burn zone. These include heavy metals, VOCs (such as Benzene), and PAHs (compounds found in gasoline, smoke, and charred food). With these concerns in mind, we want to share what the Garden has been doing to mitigate possible harmful impacts at the garden.
We also want to stress that no harmful levels of contaminants have been found at the garden.
Arlington Garden is 3.7 miles away from the southernmost edge of the burn zone. Although there are no specific reasons to think that there are dangerous levels of contaminants in properties miles away from the fire, and there are no local or state advisories to do soil testing, we want to update our visitors and the larger community on the fire’s impact in our part of West Pasadena.
We worked with soil scientist Lynn Fang, MS of SoilWise to test the soil in some highly-trafficked areas of the garden. Soil samples were collected from these areas in the middle of February following the first rain, and the results show that all contaminants tested (heavy metals, VOCs, and PAHs) are below safety concern and the site is safe for community access. One of our close neighbors has also received heartening test results–no unsafe levels of contaminants were found at their property.
Since the Eaton Fire, we have made N95 masks, nitrile gloves, and goggles available to our staff and volunteers. For extra precaution, people working in the garden are advised to wear long-sleeve shirts, pants, and a tight-fitting N95 mask and gloves when working with soil or dust. The garden also has disposable P100 respirators available for anyone who wishes to use them.
While we were closed to the public during the fires, we sprayed down all furniture and pathways for our visitors and work areas for our staff and volunteers. We had oscillators running throughout the garden during the first two weeks following the start of the fires in order to keep the soil damp and reduce dust levels.
Our first event following the fires was the second part of our volunteer orange harvest (the harvest began before the fire). For this event, we washed down all orange trees and fruit and actively monitored air quality, which was clear the day of the harvest. Volunteers were informed about the fire and required to wear PPE. We also spoke with a soil expert about any possible contamination of the fruit and were informed that our oranges are safe to consume and handle once washed, since we were outside of the fire perimeter. We have been and will continue to watch for official advisements and learn best practices via our connection to experts from the City.
Gardens are especially needed in dark times. Every member of the staff and all of our wonderful volunteers at Arlington believe that it is vitally important for our community, and especially survivors of the fires, to have a welcoming natural space in which to heal. Gardens do not simply look pretty. They offer refuge and respite for those who have been impacted by change and loss. For that reason, our staff worked from sunrise to sunset after the windstorm to clean and safely reopen in the traumatic week following the fire. We met, and continue to meet, people who lost their homes in Altadena, firefighters seeking rest, volunteers from out of town who came to help, and those struggling with profound grief. For the coming year, we are committed to the garden serving as an educational and restorative space for those impacted–one part of our contribution towards Pasadena’s response to the Eaton Fire.
We are very proud to be able to provide this free, beautiful outdoor space for those who seek solace and peace, especially now in this time of urgent need.
The windstorm and fire created unanticipated expenses for the garden (including hiring arborists, additional staffing hours, and purchases of PPE and cleaning equipment) and led to significant losses of anticipated revenue. If you enjoy your visits to the garden and support our work, please consider supporting us with a donation.
You may donate here.
You may signup to volunteer here.
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