Thomas & Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles

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About CAP.LA

In the wake of the Eaton and Palisades Fires, disaster recovery experts from multiple universities have come together to expedite and empower household and business recovery decisions. Their efforts, as part of a data-informed civic action, will enable household members and business owners to be proactive recovery partners.

CAP.LA (Community Action Project LA) is funded by the R&S Kayne Foundation and includes researchers from Loyola Marymount University, UCLA, and Purdue University.

Soil Sampling

We are asking owners of properties near the Palisades and Eaton Fires for permission to collect soil and water samples in their yards, gardens, and/or pools to test for possible wildfire pollutants. There is NO cost to the homeowner for the sampling or testing. To enroll, please fill out this form:

SOIL SAMPLE ENROLLMENT FORM

The results will be provided to the homeowner once testing is completed (~1-2 weeks after samples are collected). Additionally results, grouped and mapped by neighborhood, will be available and updated regularly, but no names or specific addresses will be listed with the results. Researchers will then use the deidentified data in publications and presentations.

Your participation is voluntary, and you are free to decline to answer any question, although not answering certain questions may result in us not being able to collect a sample. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Brianne Gilbert, Managing Director at the Center for the Study of Los Angeles, at studyLA@lmu.edu. Completion of this enrollment form does not ensure a sample will be taken. We will do our best to collect samples from every requested location, however, resources are limited. Homeowners will be emailed if their property is selected and will be informed which day a sample will be taken a few days in advance. Our team is actively working to secure additional funding for more samples.

Surveying

In addition to collecting soil samples, researchers will conduct a survey of community experiences and concerns so that they can then be addressed by officials and decision makers. Topics to be covered in the survey are expected to include household impacts, property experiences and needs, challenges property owners are currently facing and those they anticipate facing, and perceived gaps in the responses that property owners receive from different sources. Topics may also include property cleanup, environmental exposures, testing, opinions, insurance and government agency interactions, and more. Survey results will help expedite ongoing recovery and serve as a model for future incidents since no such mechanism currently exists.

Survey development is currently underway. Homeowners who wish to participate will give consent agreeing to share their data and their results will be anonymized and pooled with all responses. Responses will be separated into three or more groups, for example, the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, and Adjacent to a burn zone. Results of the survey will be available after the data are collected.

Project Team

The project team consists of teams at Purdue University, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Purdue University, Loyola Marymount University (LMU), and the R&S Kayne Foundation.

Purdue University - Andrew Whelton

Andrew J. Whelton, is a Professor of Civil, Construction, Environmental and Ecological Engineering at Purdue University and founder of the Center for Plumbing Safety. He has been called into some of the most significant U.S. wildfires and other disasters in recent history to provide public health and engineering support. His teams have assisted decision-makers, businesses, and households. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering, M.S. in Environmental Engineering, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. His prior work experience includes the U.S. Army, NIST,  and the private sector.

UCLA - Sanjay Mohanty

Sanjay Mohanty is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California Los Angeles. His research broadly focuses on enhancing environmental resilience and public health by studying contamination risks in vulnerable ecosystems. He investigates the fate and transport of pollutants in soil and water, particularly during climate extremes such as wildfires and flooding, and explores strategies to minimize exposure. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a B.S. in Physics from Utkal University in India. 

Loyola Marymount University - Fernando J. Guerra and Brianne Gilbert

Fernando J. Guerra, in addition to his role as the founding director of StudyLA, is a full professor of political science and Chicana/o studies at LMU. He has served on standing commissions, blue-ribbon committees, and ad hoc task forces for the city of Los Angeles, the State of California, and regional bodies in Southern California. Fernando is published in the area of state and local government and urban and ethnic politics. He earned his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Michigan and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California.

Brianne Gilbert, in addition to her role as managing director at StudyLA, is also a senior lecturer at LMU in the department of political science. She is published in the fields of LA politics, geospatial techniques, and undergraduate research development, and is the author of Statistics in the Social Sciences: Inferential Statistics as Rhetoric in Sociology. Brianne received her B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in Statistics from Wittenberg University and her M.A. in Comparative Sociology and Anthropology from Florida International University.

R&S Kayne Foundation - Saree Kayne and Sarah Ali

Saree Kayne is a cultural anthropologist (PhD, Stanford University 2020). Prior to that, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago. In addition to her work at the Foundation, she also serves as Vice-President of the board of the KCRW Foundation, a leading NPR affiliate in Los Angeles that serves as a hub of culture, news and music for the community. Saree is interested in medicine and volunteers at the Venice Family Clinic, and formerly at the Telluride Medical Center in Telluride, CO.

Sarah Ali has a background in education, strategy, and leadership. She earned a B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in School Administration at Loyola Marymount University.  Previous governance and leadership roles include: Board Chair and Interim Executive Director for Snap Foundation; Board Secretary for the SEED School of Los Angeles, a college-prep public boarding school; Advisory Committee, Los Angeles Postsecondary Funders Collaborative; and administrative roles at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy and Aspire Public Schools. She serves on the Boards of Dreamhaus and Crenshaw Dairy Mart, two L.A. based arts organizations.