Rapidly Mapping Exposure Research Following the 2025 LA County Wildfires: A Public Health Extreme Event Research
Naomi Cutler1, Nicole Ann Errett1, David Eisenman2
1Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, https://ror.org/00cvxb145University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Objective:
Mounting evidence indicates a strong correlation between wildfire smoke exposure and health impacts, though limited studies have focused on urban fires or exposures other than smoke. The 2025 LA County Fires presented an opportunity to broaden this evidence base.
Methods:
In response, the Public Health Extreme Events Research (PHEER) Network developed an ArcGIS Online health exposure map to curate and disseminate information about environmental exposure data collection activities across agencies and researchers.
Results:
The map integrates data collection locations with publicly available datasets to reduce duplication of effort. PHEER also partnered with the University of Washington's Natural Hazards Reconnaissance (RAPID) facility to collect hyperspectral imagery for analysis. Concerns about sharing granular exposure data led PHEER to prioritize disseminating locations and types of data collected rather than the data itself.
Conclusion:
PHEER's approach provides a model for supporting rapid, ethical disaster research in complex urban fire contexts.
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