With Los Angeles experience The warmest temperature So far, officials in the St. Gabriel Valley have warned residents that uninclined swimming pools and other water-stabilized water in the Eaton fire burning area could become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
The damage caused by the January fire left behind “thousands of unborn swimming pools, damaged septic systems and debris-filled areas – ideal conditions for mosquito growth,” said Jason Haru, district manager of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District Last week’s virtual community meeting. The region spans 26 cities in the southern country, including Altadena and Pasadena.
“Cool weather has temporarily suppressed mosquito activity, but as we move further into spring, this activity will change very quickly.” His warning is Report first Los Angeles Daily News.
Mosquitoes flourish in warm weather conditions and rely on accumulated water to reproduce, making the swimming pool fertile ground for the population to explode. Temperatures in Altadena soared above 90 degrees on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Anais Medina Diaz, a spokesman for Vector Contory District Endicts, said officials have identified about 2,700 swimming pools in the area that may attract attention, about 1,300 swimming pools in the burning area and around 1,400 swimming pools, many of which are filled with ash and debris.
Diaz said the figure does not indicate that septic tanks and ponds may not have been found by aerial surveillance.
But a swimming pool can breed up to three million mosquitoes in a month.
“It’s a huge problem for us,” Diaz said. “We do try to focus on the surrounding pools and work inward because we want to make sure that the pools closest to communities where people still have people are not breeding or growing more mosquitoes and increasing the risk of disease transmission.”
One of the main diseases of concern is West Nile virusmost of the already specific diseases in the United States, including the Los Angeles area, can cause severe and potentially fatal brain inflammation,,,,, Among other serious problems. It is said that data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Dengue is another virus that can be transmitted through mosquitoes and can cause high fever, body aches, vomiting and rashes. Los Angeles County records 234 cases Dengue infection last year.
Many dengue cases last year were linked to travel to hot and humid places that often spread the virus, such as the Caribbean. But also, the warm temperatures driven by climate change in Southern California Increased in local cases.
Diaz said that while the flight range of mosquitoes carrying the disease is usually limited to about a mile, anyone entering or around Eaton’s fire burning zone should pay attention to the spread of the disease.
The same goes for residents on the other side of Los Angeles County, where officials in the western vector control area of the county, including the Palisade area of the Pacific, which was affected by the Palisade fire, said they are also working to address the mosquito problem this year.
“The swimming pools at the Palisades fire zone are definitely a concern for mosquito breeding,” Executive Director Aaron Arugay said in an email. “Our area will respond to all service requests about pools that the Palisade Fire Zone has not reached through the summer.”
Arugay said the agency has not completed an estimate of the number of affected properties. But temperatures tend to rise in the inland areas than in coastal areas, meaning mosquito activity in Palisad may not rise until later in the season.
In Altadena, where mercury has begun to climb, the next few weeks will be crucial.
The agency’s treatment program for affected pools includes the use of larvae, which can provide mosquito control for up to 90 days.
Introduce mosquitoes (Gambsia affinis) – A species that eats mosquito larvae and pup – Entering the standpoint water level is the most effective way to limit mosquito reproduction. However, many pools affected by the fire are currently uninhabitable due to ash and debris.
Farned said the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District officials will prioritize the work based on the property’s distance from neighboring communities and the requirements raised by the property owner.
“The water resident in mosquito breeding violates public health and safety regulations, but we understand that many owners currently have limited compliance options, so our goal is to provide as much support as possible during this transition,” he said.
Officials in two fire-affected areas are encouraged to contact local agencies to make a request for service or notify them if they have a swimming pool or spa that is not maintained. Both agencies said there was no additional cost to ask for examinations or treatment for owners.
However, the cost may soon surpass inventory in the San Gabriel Valley region, Diaz said. The agency charges $20 per box office property tax per year, but will have to take advantage of its emergency reserves, covering only the first round of mosquito treatment, an estimated $306,000.
Diaz said the Eaton Fire Department will require at least two additional treatments this year and may require upgraded reactions, such as truck-installed pesticide applications, to cover a wider range of areas. Additional funds may come from resource requirements fulfilled by the county or state, or are reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Administration.
Despite the past response to vector control zones to wildfire burn zones, Diaz noted that the scale of damage from the Eaton fire has not seen any challenges in California.
“This is unprecedented,” she said.
