State-managed contractors have cleared eligible wildfire debris from more than 85 percent of the properties whose owners enrolled in California’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program after last year’s fires.
To date, crews have removed burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 1,517 properties. The 1,517 cleared properties represent 85.1 percent of the 1,783 properties in 15 counties participating in the full debris removal program. Another 356 properties are participating in the hazardous trees only element of the program.
“The state’s recovery team has worked incredibly hard to remove more than 350,000 tons of debris, nearly 22,000 eligible fire-damaged trees and other hazardous materials on public roads and properties from the 2021 wildfires statewide. We are committed to clearing the remaining properties as quickly as possible so that families can safely return home and move forward in their recovery,” said Cal OES Deputy Director Ryan Buras.
Under the program, administered by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.
Cal OES and CalRecycle are making significant progress removing debris from some of the California communities hit hardest during the 2021 fire season.
In Greenville, the historic gold rush-era town just east of Lake Almanor where the Dixie Fire decimated the central commercial district and destroyed more than 400 homes, state crews have now cleared more than 90 percent of all participating properties.
Crews have also finished removing debris from key community anchors, such as the Greenville public library and post office. Progress is also being made further north, where crews are clearing the remains of several destroyed mobile home parks. Across Plumas County, crews have completed the removal of more than half of the 16,000 hazard trees along county maintained roads.
Similarly, the El Dorado County community of Grizzly Flats was hit hard by the Caldor Fire, which destroyed the community’s post office, fire station and hundreds of homes. Now, state crews have cleared 99 percent of all enrolled properties in Grizzly Flats, including the Grizzly Flats Community Church. Cal OES and CalRecycle are also approximately 40 percent in removing more than 21,000 fire-damaged hazard trees threatening infrastructure and rebuilding in the Grizzly Flats community.
In Alpine County, crews recently began the removal of 3,700 hazard trees from Turtle Rock Park, which was devastated last year by the Tamarack Fire. Cal OES and CalRecycle previously removed the structural debris from this county-owned park and campground, and both agencies remain committed to ensuring Turtle Rock Park can rebuild and reopen to the public as quickly as possible.
Property owners opted into the program by submitting a Right-of-Entry form (ROE) to their county, which allows the state to begin work on their property and incur no direct costs for the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from their properties.
Property owners cannot start rebuilding until fire debris is removed from their properties and soil samples taken from the property meet state environmental health and safety standards. Property owners also can do the work themselves or hire a private contractor, but the work must meet the same state standards as the State Program. If work is started by the property owner or contractor, they become ineligible for the State Program.
This program has two phases. In Phase I, local government, state and federal agencies have organized teams of experts and contractors to inspect the property and assess, make safe, and/or remove any household hazardous waste that may pose a threat to human health, animals, and the environment such as batteries, herbicides, pesticides, propane tanks, asbestos siding, and paints. Phase I is automatic and includes all residential properties that have been destroyed by the fires. In Phase II, local, state and federal officials will coordinate to conduct fire-related debris removal from the property elected to participate in the State Program by signing a Right-of-Entry Form.
