Officials with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are warning residents that their tap water might not be safe to drink due to benzene and other volatile organic compounds that may have entered the water system.
Benzene is a chemical that has been linked to cancer.
"Bottled water should be used for all drinking (including baby formula and juice), brushing teeth, washing dishes, making ice and food preparation until further notice. This also applies to pets and domestic animals," the department said in a press release.
"Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, letting water stand, or applying any other form of treatment will NOT make the water safe," it added.
The affected area includes consumers in zip code 90272 and adjacent communities in the LADWP service area north of San Vicente Boulevard.
It's the latest in a series of water advisories issued this week in places affected by the wildfires.
"They will find contamination," Andrew Whelton, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University who has studied other recent wildfires, told NPR.
"The question is how high is it? Where is it? What parts of the communities will have to have restrictions?"
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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