The State of the Soil in LA

FREE Virtual Town Hall on the State of the Soil in 2 Days

The best way that I can describe the fire recovery so far for the citizens of Los Angeles is chaos. Information is hard to come by and the truth, even harder. I feel terrible for Angelenos who've lost their homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires of January 2025. It was the worst environmental disaster to ever hit LA. The wildfires that destroyed homes, schools, places of worship, businesses, wildlife habitats, and infrastructure have wreaked havoc on the lives of those in the fires zones for the citizens who’ve lost their homes, as well as for those whose houses are still standing, but with intensive ecological damage both inside and out. It is a tragedy that is sad, difficult, painful and traumatic for those members of our community. I am absolutely heartbroken for everyone who has suffered from this devastating event. You have my condolences, my heartfelt wish for recovery and my promise to stand up for you. 

The way that my wife and I can help is through the work we do with the soil. We have worked for years in the remediation of toxic gardens, landscapes, farms, golf courses and large public spaces as we transitioned them to organic and bio-remediated the toxicity that permeated the soil, the plants and spaces of those properties. Of course Malibu Compost's Bu's Blend Biodynamic Compost helped remediate the soil and was possibly the most important product we used in those gardens, but there are more biological products that need to be used on a soil remediation project.

BU'S BLEND BIODYNAMIC COMPOST

We have been offering free classes on ZOOM since March on Soil Remediation for the LA Fires to give people hope that their yards and gardens could be restored. We’ve been sharing the information that we’ve gathered working to clean up soil toxicity from chemical fertilization and heavy metals on hundreds of projects and thousands of acres. 

We have been watching and listening very closely to the city and county officials, the rebuilding groups, prominent contractors and community activists and have come to the conclusion that most of them aren’t giving any consideration to healing, remediating and repairing the soil that has been depleted and is highly toxic from the ash fallout in January. Many in LA seem to be focused on lead and metals which are certainly and issue, but not the biggest issue with regards to the soil toxicity. 

The chemical fallout that came with the fire ash explosion over the entire city and surrounding communities of Los Angeles is on a scale that is hard to fathom. The amount of poison from VOCs. PFAs, PAHs, asbestos and heavy metals from the chemical compounds used to build homes and maintain properties is staggering. We are talking about millions of tons of ash composed of solvents, gas, aluminum, fiberglass, wood, wire and fertilizers that were unleashed on Los Angeles in a fire zone estimated to be 62 square miles. That is just under the size of San Francisco and Manhattan combined. That is an insane amount of burn area and toxicity that was released onto all of Los Angeles and the communities nearby. 

This is why we have jumped in to raise the warning flag and sound the alarm. We do not believe that it is prudent or safe to build back on lots or move back into homes whose properties have not had the soil biologically remediated. Further, we think that everyone in LA who lives on the periphery of the Eaton and Palisades Fires needs to remediate their soil as well, in addition to anyone whose home or business was within 25 miles of the fire zones. All of you need to remediate your soil, gardens and landscapes. The work for those on the periphery and outside communities is nowhere as intensive as for our friends and family in the fire zones, but nonetheless, it is still imperative for the longterm health of you and your property to remediate your soil as well. 

This is the State of the Soil in LA. It is toxic. It is unsafe. It needs to be remediated safely and properly. Los Angeles will not recover unless it’s soil recovers! 

For this reason we are holding the first community meeting to answer the questions and concerns, and for anyone who is worried, unsure or confused about the soil toxicity and what to do about it, after the LA Fires. To join this FREE Virtual Town Hall on The State of the Soil which is this Wednesday, June 25th at 7pm, go to growrealorganic.com and RSVP today.

If you cannot make it and would like to learn more about how to remediate your soil, you can see all of the products and protocols recommended in this book: Soil Remediation for the LA Fires.

We hope that you will share this information with your friends, family and neighbors who’ve been affected by this horrible environmental disaster.

© Randy Ritchie 2025