SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — State contractors have removed burned metal, concrete, ash and debris from nearly 150 residential properties in Los Angeles and Ventura counties affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires and whose owners are participating in the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, officials with the Debris Removal Operations Center (DROC) said today.
To date, state crews have cleared eligible debris from 127 properties in Los Angeles County and from 21 parcels in Ventura County and are expected to begin implementing erosion control measures Wednesday on properties where all clean-up goals have been achieved.
Further action on the rest of the cleared properties is pending the results of testing and analysis within the next two weeks by a state-certified laboratory of soil samples collected at each property to determine whether the soil samples meet state health and environmental standards.
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. Debris removal operations on the 148 cleared sites followed earlier site assessments, asbestos surveys and, where necessary, asbestos abatements of those properties.
Debris removal officials also reported that contractors have completed site assessments on 844 properties – 748 in Los Angeles County and 96 in Ventura County. They also have completed 816 asbestos surveys, 737 of them in Los Angeles 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 737 asbestos surveys in Los Angeles County and 96 in Ventura County.
During the asbestos surveys, state contractors canvass each property for asbestos containing materials (ACMs) and collect samples of materials suspected of containing ACMs for testing. Properties with ACMs are scheduled for abatement. Those with no ACMs present are scheduled for debris removal. Contractors also may tip standing chimneys for later removal.
Property owners who have submitted ROEs can meet one-on-one with debris removal experts from their respective counties to discuss the status of their ROEs and issues related to their property at the Debris Removal Operations Center (DROC) located at 26610 Agoura Road in Calabasas. The DROC is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays.
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 may walk the property 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.