Why 'rippling effects' of wildfires will have lasting impact on LA's Latino community
The wildfires that ravaged much of Los Angeles County have disproportionately impacted Latino workers and communities and are likely to have lasting effects as the region recovers, researchers say.
The county's Latinos are vulnerable on multiple fronts, according to a report compiled by the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Those include higher rates of employment in industries requiring a physical presence, higher exposure to air pollution and lower rates of health insurance.
As a result, the economic instability and impacts on wellbeing disproportionately experienced by the county's Latino population ― the largest in terms of percentage in the U.S. ― are both likely to linger given its outsized representation in industries that will either experience long-term upheaval or expose them to ongoing health risks.
'For Latinos, who make up a significant portion of the Los Angeles workforce, these rippling effects are particularly severe,' the report said.
Multiple fires throughout the county earlier this month killed 29 people and destroyed more than 18,000 structures. By focusing on the area's Latino community, who comprise nearly half the county's population of about 10 million, the UCLA report illustrates how wildfire impact analysis has become more specialized as climate changes have made wildfires a more common threat to area economies and social welfare.
'Fires are not all equal,' said civil rights lawyer Sonja Diaz, co-founder and former director of the UCLA institute, as part of a virtual panel about the findings. 'It's not necessarily about where people live; it's about the disruption.'
Community overly represented in outdoor, essential work
At least 35,000 jobs held by Latinos have been temporarily or permanently displaced because of the wildfires, the UCLA report said.
The reason? Latino workers are more susceptible to wildfire-related economic disruptions because of their overrepresentation in industries requiring a physical presence, such as agriculture, construction, manual labor, service and retail. Many of those jobs are outdoors, where wildfire damage or smoke disrupted their ability to work, resulting in lost wages – an especially dire challenge for those living paycheck to paycheck.
Overall, just 7% of Latino workers in Los Angeles County can work remotely compared to 22% of white workers, heightening the community's vulnerability to temporary or permanent job loss, according to the report.
'We're seeing an outsized disparate impact,' Diaz said. 'And these households and workers are in their most productive years.'
Meanwhile, 28% of the state's Latino-owned small businesses report not having fire insurance.
While Latinos account for just 23% of residents in the three major burn zones – Palisades, Hurst and Eaton – they comprise 36% of the workforce in those areas. The difference is especially pronounced in the Palisades Fire zone, the report said, where Latinos hold more than a third of jobs despite representing just 7% of the population.
In the Hurst Fire zone, where Latinos are a third of the population, they account for nearly half (47%) of workers. In the Eaton Fire zone, Latinos represent 27% of the populace but 35% of workers.
Latinos' vulnerability is particularly evident in wealthier areas like Pacific Palisades, where many commute daily for household roles such as maids, housekeepers and home health aides. With Latinos accounting for 85% of individuals employed in such roles in Los Angeles County, the wildfires and subsequent destruction have been especially disruptive, the report said.
Nearly half of Latinos working in these jobs are self-employed compared to a quarter of their white counterparts, leaving many without access to paid leave or unemployment insurance benefits.
Isaias Hernandez, a Los Angeles educator and environmentalist, said his gardener father completely lost his clients in Altadena, largely destroyed by the Eaton Fire, with little choice but to try to find other clients to make up for that lost income.
'He has to put himself in difficult situations,' Hernandez said. 'Everyone knows that if you have immigrant parents, it's very hard to tell them not to work during a climate disaster. We tried to make sure that if he did go out that he would wear an N95 mask.'
Diaz said the effects are reminiscent of those inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which likewise hit the community harder than most.
'We saw disparate impacts on mortality and infection rates because of their occupational segregation as essential workers and structural and systemic inequities that hindered access to care,' she said.
Construction workers face lingering health risks
The harmful effects of the wildfires will linger for Latinos in other ways as well, the report noted.
Wildfire smoke has exacerbated already poor air quality in Latino neighborhoods, where elevated pollution levels contribute to disproportionately high asthma-related emergency room visits. An average of 67 per 10,000 people in Latino neighborhoods visit emergency rooms annually compared to 25 in 10,000 in white neighborhoods, according to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
According to Diaz, Latinos are the most uninsured racial/ethnic group in the country, which already hinders their access to health care.
'Latinos in the county live in places that are twice as likely to have higher pollution and air quality issues,' she said. 'There's going to be a disparate impact on communities already dealing with substantially higher levels of pollution that lead to chronic disease.'
Furthermore, with Latinos accounting for 84% of Los Angeles County's construction workforce, health risks will continue with the community set to play a crucial role in rebuilding.
'Their labor is essential for rebuilding homes and infrastructure, but this also exposes them to additional health risks including exposure to toxic chemicals and hazardous conditions at burn sites,' the UCLA report said. 'Protecting these workers is crucial to ensuring a fair recovery process.'
About 14% of people in Latino neighborhoods are uninsured, compared to 3% in white neighborhoods; in addition, language barriers and fears of immigration enforcement hinder access to emergency resources.
'This disaster is occurring under very difficult political circumstances where immigrants and families are not comfortable trying to get aid for fear of enforcement actions,' Diaz said.
Diaz said the pandemic showed that local governments are unable to deploy information, resources and care at the levels necessary for communities facing systemic barriers, pointing to a need to partner with community-based organizations like local clinics, nonprofits and ethnic media groups.
'The research underscores the need for more equitable disaster response strategies that address the compounded risks Latino communities face, both in terms of immediate recovery and long-term resilience,' the report said.
Hernandez said the mental health effects will linger as well.
'There's a lot of ecological grief,' he said. 'A lot of people didn't lose loved ones, but they lost their sense of safety.'
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