Environment/Climate Change
Rapid Surveillance of the Mental Health Impact of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires among Adolescents Alyssa F. Harlow* Alyssa Harlow Harlow Harlow Harlow Harlow University of Southern California
Background: In January 2025, the greater Los Angeles (LA) area experienced the largest and most destructive wildfire disaster in the region’s history that destroyed thriving communities and exposed individuals to numerous toxins from burned building materials. Natural disasters such as the LA wildfires require adaptability and quick response in epidemiology to conduct real-time rapid surveillance of public health crises.
Methods: Immediately after the January 2025 wildfires, our team integrated a module into two existing prospective cohort studies of Southern California adolescents to assess stressors experienced as a result of the wildfires and association with mental health symptoms. Among 10th and 12th graders in Southern California (n=2839), we examined associations of wildfire-related stressors with depression and anxiety symptoms 3 months after the fires, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and mental health symptoms 3 months before the fires.
Results: Due to the wildfires, 35.8% of adolescents were worried about the health of family members, nearly one-quarter feared for their personal safety (23.1%), personal health (22.3%), and/or felt anxious, stressed or depressed (21.9%), and 10.4% had a family or loved one who lost their home. Several wildfire-related stressors (e.g., life changes, loss of possessions, family and friend impacts) were associated with 1.5-2.0 times greater odds of anxiety and depressive symptoms post-fires.
Conclusions: A substantial proportion of Southern California adolescents experienced direct or indirect stressors from the 2025 LA wildfires. These stressors were associated with worse mental health 3 months later. As wildfires increase, public health professionals should be aware of the growing need for mental health support services for adolescents exposed to wildfires. This work demonstrates the utility of leveraging existing research infrastructure to inform and monitor evolving public health environments and emergencies.