Our Donation to Those Impacted by the L.A. Wildfires

Like many people worldwide, the AirGradient team has been closely monitoring the Los Angeles wildfires over the past couple of weeks. Initially, we shared the hope that the fires would be short-lived and quickly die out. However, as that seems increasingly unlikely, we wanted to offer some support to locals impacted by the fires currently burning across the city.

Some members of AirGradient, including our founders, know the devastation of wildfires firsthand and have been personally impacted by them. In fact, the company was founded after the wildfires in Northern Thailand in 2019, and these experiences have shaped our commitment to helping communities monitor and understand the impact of air pollution, particularly during crises like this.

While the impacts of the fires themselves are devastating, air quality is another factor of this tragic disaster that needs to be considered. While ultrafine particles like PM_2.5 from all sources can be harmful, wildfire smoke is potentially 10 times more toxic than ambient PM. Furthermore, ultrafine particles impact a much greater area, and the effects can be felt even by those hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away from the source of the smoke.

We’ve always believed in open access to reliable air quality data, which is more valuable than ever in situations like this. While L.A. has many government and organisational reference-grade air quality decisions, hyper-local monitoring is vital for informing citizens about their exposure to wildfire smoke and the actions they should take. As such, our team wanted to do what we could to help those impacted by the disaster by donating air quality monitors to locals.

We are still looking into the best methods to distribute these monitors, but we have decided to donate a MINIMUM of 25 fully assembled Open Air monitors. These devices come equipped with PM_2.5 sensors and, with the specially developed EPA algorithm designed for wildfire smoke, are able to measure air quality in affected areas accurately.

As with everyone, we’re unsure how long the wildfires will last. We are hoping they end quickly, and if this is the case, it’s likely that the monitors we donate won’t arrive until after the worst of the wildfire smoke has passed. However, we still want to make this donation as particles emitted from wildfires can stay airborne for weeks and sometimes months after the event.

We hope these monitors can help locals identify air quality trends and safeguard their health through accurate information. If you’re interested in hosting a monitor and live in an impacted area, please fill out the Google Form below. Our only request is this: once deployed, please ensure the data is publicly available on the AirGradient Map and OpenAQ so everyone can benefit from the monitor.

We aim to distribute our donations to spatially cover as many areas in LA as possible to best aid in the process of air quality monitoring. As such, in the event of a need for greater coverage, our team will do our best to support LA through increased donations. If you know of any organisations, advocacy groups, or other groups on the ground in L.A. who might be interested in deploying some air quality monitors, please let us know!

The survey below takes only a couple of minutes to complete. The google form requires a signin because you will need to upload a photo of the proposed monitor location.

Apply for a Monitor

*all applications are subject to AirGradient’s review and approval. We want to distribute the monitors to cover as much of the impacted areas as possible.