The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new wildfire soil testing program in Los Angeles, CA. The purpose of this program is to verify that lead contamination was successfully removed after the 2025 Eaton fire and to establish national best practices for future wildfire recovery. The voluntary effort, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will generate new laboratory data that the EPA will use to validate post-fire cleanup methods and guide how soil is tested after major disasters.
Wildfire soil testing measures whether hazardous contaminants remain in soil once burned structures and debris have been cleared. These results determine whether properties are safe for reoccupation and provide the scientific basis for environmental recovery decisions. In this case, the EPA is applying advanced composite sampling and lead analysis techniques to confirm that cleanup efforts protected public health and to create a standardized framework that can be used across the US in future wildfire responses.
EPA expands wildfire soil testing after the Eaton fire
Following the completion of post-fire cleanup activities in early 2025, the EPA continued monitoring conditions in the Eaton fire area to assess whether contaminants remained in residential soil. A September 2025 study by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health evaluated multiple pollutant classes, including heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, and furans. That study found that lead contamination was the only fire-related pollutant detected across the area after debris removal.
Based on those findings, the EPA will focus its wildfire soil testing program on measuring lead. Administrator Lee Zeldin said, “This additional sampling effort demonstrates our continued commitment to Los Angeles residents. By establishing data-driven best practices today, we’re ensuring that the EPA and our partners will be even better prepared to protect American communities in future wildfire disasters.”
How soil sampling and lead testing will work
The EPA will collect soil from randomly selected residential properties within the Eaton fire footprint. Crews will sample at two depths: at the bottom of the excavation created during debris removal and approximately six inches below that level. Sampling at multiple depths allows scientists to determine whether lead contamination remains at the original ground surface or has migrated deeper into the soil profile during or after the fire.
To improve accuracy, the EPA will use an incremental sampling methodology. Instead of collecting a few discrete soil grabs, crews will gather 30 small soil increments from different locations across each property. These increments are combined into a single composite sample that represents average conditions for the entire parcel. This approach reduces the influence of localized contamination hotspots and produces more statistically reliable wildfire soil testing results.
Composite samples will be sent to laboratories for lead analysis using established analytical techniques designed to detect trace metals in complex soil matrices. These methods support the generation of high-confidence data for regulatory decisions and public reporting.
How the data will be used
The new wildfire soil testing program serves several purposes. It will document environmental conditions after post-fire cleanup, confirm whether debris removal successfully reduced lead contamination, and provide data for statistical models that will guide future wildfire response protocols.
The EPA will provide individual property owners with laboratory reports showing their lead results, along with guidance from local and state agencies on available resources. The agency will also share aggregated data with officials from Los Angeles County and the California Environmental Protection Agency to support long-term recovery planning and community resilience.
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A national model for post-fire cleanup
The EPA expects to release results from the soil sampling initiative by the end of spring 2026. Those findings will shape how soil is tested, excavated, and verified in wildfire zones across the US.
By combining large-scale field sampling, laboratory analysis, and statistical modeling, the Los Angeles program is designed to serve as a national template for evaluating environmental safety following catastrophic fires. For laboratory professionals, the initiative signals that wildfire soil testing, lead contamination analysis, and post-fire cleanup verification will continue to play an increasingly important role in disaster response and environmental recovery efforts.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
