SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — State contractors have cleared eligible debris from more than 72 percent of the properties affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires that are currently participating in the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, officials with the Debris Removal Operations Center (DROC) in Calabasas reported today.
To date, crews have removed debris from 667 – or 72.4 percent — of 921 eligible properties in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
In Los Angeles County, contractors have cleared all burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 601 — or 72.58 percent — of the 828 eligible properties affected by the Woolsey Fire.
In Ventura County, crews have cleared 66 – or 70.96 percent – of the 93 eligible properties affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires. The 66 cleared properties include 61 – or 70.11 percent — of the 87 eligible properties affected by the Woolsey Fire and five of thesix eligible properties affected by the Hill Fire.
Under the state program, administered by CalRecycle and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), property owners who opt in incur no direct costs for the removal of eligible debris.
According to DROC officials, crews have finished implementing erosion control measures on 260 of the cleared properties in Los Angeles County and on 30 of the cleared properties in Ventura County, including 27 related to the Woolsey Fire. Erosion control measures include the installation of fiber rolls and the application of a wood-based, environmentally friendly mulch.
Officials also have submitted final inspection reports to local officials for 212 of the cleared sites in Los Angeles County and for 28 of the cleared sites in Ventura. Submission of the 240 final inspection reports to local officials in both counties clears the way for those property owners to begin reconstruction.
Submission of the final inspection report for each property followed the completion of site assessments; asbestos surveys; asbestos abatements, where needed; debris removal; analysis and testing of soil samples by a state-certified laboratory; the implementation of erosion control measures by state contractors; and a final walkthrough by state debris removal officials and operations staff.
Debris removal officials also reported that contractors have completed site assessments on 1,004 properties – 894 in Los Angeles County and 110 in Ventura County.
During site assessments of properties whose owners have opted into the state program, contractors document and photograph property lines, the location of septic tanks, the footprints of foundations and ash, as well as objects that pose a hazard or hamper operations such as trees, pools and vehicles.
Contractors also have completed 992 asbestos surveys – 892 in Los Angeles County and 100 in Ventura County. In addition, they have abated 134 of the 139 properties in Los Angeles County where they found bulk quantities of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs). In Ventura County, crews have abated 17 of the 21 parcels where they identified bulk quantities of ACMs.
Debris removal experts from Los Angeles County Public Works and the Ventura County Environmental Health Division are available at the DROC from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays to meet with property owners who have submitted Right-of-Entry (ROE) permit applications.
Debris officials will notify property owners who have opted in to the state program 24-48 hours prior to the start of debris removal operations on their property. Property owners can meet with crews before work begins.
For more information in Los Angeles County, visit lacounty.gov/LACountyRecovers or call 1-626-979-5370. For more information in Ventura County, visit www.venturacountyrecovers.org or call 1-805-504-7869.