Purdue researchers travel to help households, businesses recover from LA wildfires

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue wildfire response and recovery expert Andrew Whelton and PhD student Cristiane Grossi Ferrarezzi have been in the Los Angeles area this week to assist households and businesses affected by last month’s Palisades fire and Eaton fire.

Their assistance has included collecting data on the community’s needs to better inform the response and sharing observations and expertise with local groups leading the recovery effort. They also have been collaborating with researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, while on-site.

Whelton, a Purdue professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, has traveled to the sites of three other major U.S. wildfires in recent years to help communities restore their drinking water systems.

His research papers have become go-to resources for disaster response groups. The Water Research Foundation recently published guidance authored by Whelton for public drinking water system staff to follow in the aftermath of a wildfire. The guidance was sponsored by four water utilities in California.

Reporters also regularly come to Whelton with questions on how wildfires impact drinking water systems. Whelton’s comments in relation to the LA wildfires have appeared in stories by the Associated Press, Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC News, NPR, Wired and many others in recent weeks.

Read more about Whelton’s work:

• When wildfires strike, Andrew Whelton goes into action
• Purdue professor ‘brings the world’ to help after Maui, Hawaii, wildfires
• Answers to faster recovery from a wildfire are in the water

About Purdue University

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