Some 1,300 pools affected by the Eaton Fire have been identified as possible places for mosquitoes to breed. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 24, 2025.
Increasing temperatures is creating a new concern for those who live in the Eaton Fire area: Mosquitoes finding breeding grounds in dirty pools.
As some 1,300 pools affected by the Eaton Fire have been identified as possible places for mosquitoes to breed, the San Gabriel Mosquito and Vector Control said it’s getting ahead of the situation while also providing help to homeowners.
Steve Schklair’s home in Altadena is still standing, but because a smaller home on the property fell into his pool, he can’t do anything about the standing murky water.
“Our pool is worse than most because we were dead in the middle of the fire zone, as opposed to a lot of people who just picked up a few ashes in their pool,” Schklair said.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
The homeowner said he’s waiting for insurance to approve clearing out the debris and water from the pool.
“Until that debris is removed, there's just no point to it because that's going to make another huge mess,” he said.
Since many pools were left behind and unmaintained with full water, the vector control district said it’s working to treat the pools before weather gets hotter.
Even a small amount of water, for example, in a 16-ounce water bottle, can breed a hundred mosquitoes, Anais Medina Diaz from the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District said.
“For a pool, we’re looking at 3 million mosquitoes or more within a month.”
As debris clearing continues, health officials can treat pools with a temporary pesticide that controls mosquitoes for 90 days in their aquatic stage called larvicide.
While Schklair is on a long list of homeowners hoping to get their pools cleaned out, he’s planning to call local authorities so they can treat his pool.
“If there’s a mosquito within a one-mile range, it’ll find me,” he said.
Vector Control can go onto properties to treat pools as part of a public health risk, but officials want to hear from property owners to make sure their concerns are addressed. The San Gabriel Mosquito and Vector Control can be reached here.
