WEATHER

Holy Fire, now at 22,986 acres, is dropping ash. Here's how to safely remove it from your property

Palm Springs Desert Sun

A helicopter drops water to a brush fire at the Holy Fire in Lake Elsinore, California, southeast of Los Angeles, on August 11, 2018. - The fire has burned 22,986 acres by Tuesday was 59 percent contained Tuesday morning, according to the Cleveland National Forest.

Health experts are warning people not to expose themselves to ash that's been falling across portions of Riverside County since the Holy Fire was ignited near Lake Elsinore on Aug. 6.

The fire, which so far has scorched 22,986 acres, produces ash that may contain toxic chemicals because of the various materials that have burned, officials said. This includes plastics, metals and an array of unknown items that were left in homes and other structures in the burn area.

"People forget we store an awful lot of toxic stuff on our properties," said Dr. Cameron Kaiser of the Riverside County Public Health Office. "We just want people to keep in mind that, when you're dealing with ash, you don't know what's burned."

Wind was expected to push smoke and ash into the region adjacent to the fire Tuesday, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. There remains potential for smoke to enter portions of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and "air quality may reach unhealthy levels or higher in areas directly impacted by smoke," the agency said.

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A man cleans up red fire retardant that was dropped on houses by a firefighting jet, as some residents who were forced to flee the Holy Fire return to their homes in Lake Elsinore, California on August 12, 2018. - The fire has burned 21,473 acres and was 29 percent contained as of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Cleveland National Forest.

Experts suggest residents stay inside and only attempt to remove ash from their properties once the fire has stopped burning. Firefighters have contained 59 percent of the blaze's perimeter as of Tuesday, but Kaiser said "100 percent containment doesn't mean the smoke is out; it just means the fire is not going anywhere."

Once cleanup efforts begin, he said you should wear clothing that covers your body, water down the ash and scoop it into a trash bag. Ash that gets onto skin should be wiped off.

Kaiser said people could suffer shortness of breath and chest pains if they breath in ash containing unhealthy chemicals.

"Folks with heart or lung disease should not be the ones cleaning up the ash," he said.

Authorities estimate the Holy Fire may be contained as early as Friday morning.

On Tuesday, 1,340 firefighters were battling the blaze with 153 fire engines and 10 helicopters, 10 bulldozers and 11 water tenders. In a change as more of the fire is contained, no airplanes were dropping red fire retardant on the Holy Fire.

Trabuco Canyon resident Forrest Clark is accused of igniting the fire in the Cleveland National Forest. He was arrested on Aug. 7 and charged with arson and several related counts.

His arraignment has been delayed twice but is scheduled in Orange County Superior Court on Friday.