Moving Swiftly to Remove Debris from Properties Impacted by 2021 Wildfires, State Launches Dashboard to Track Progress

Published:

Today, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) announces the launch of the 2021 Debris Removal Dashboard to track the state’s efforts to remove structural wildfire debris from properties impacted by the 2021 wildfires. So far, nearly 800 property owners have enrolled in the full version of the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program (Program), which is also administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), with 60 enrolled in the program’s hazardous trees only element.

Property owners opt 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.

There’s still time for interested homeowners to sign up for the Program – the deadline for property owners to submit an ROE to their county is November 15, 2021. Find more information about the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, including contacts and county-specific ROE forms here.

Earlier this year, teams from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed household hazardous waste (HHW), such as paints, cleaners, solvents, oils, batteries, pesticides, compressed cylinders and tanks. Once HHW is removed, structural debris removal can begin.

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.

Removing fire debris is critical to recovering from the fires and rebuilding. 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.