State officials at the Debris Removal Operations Center (DROC) in Calabasas have submitted final inspection reports to local officials in Los Angeles and Ventura counties for the first 46 properties affected by the Woolsey Fire that have completed the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program.
Submission of the reports paves the way for owners of the 45 parcels in Los Angeles County and one property in Ventura County to apply for building permits and eventually begin rebuilding.
Earlier state contractors conducted site assessments; asbestos surveys and abatements, where required on each site. Crews also removed burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil before taking soil samples for later testing an analysis at a state-certified laboratory.
Once the state-certified laboratory confirmed that the soil samples taken from each property met state environmental and health standards, contractors installed fiber rolls and applied a wood-based, biodegradable mulch to each cleared property whose owners opted to have contractors implement the two erosion control measures. Following the erosion control measures, debris officials and operations staff conducted a walkthrough of each property to ensure that all aspects of the state program were complete.
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, work on 25 other properties is nearly complete, pending final inspections.
To date, contractors have removed debris from 309 properties – 278 in Los Angeles County and 31 in Ventura County. The 278 parcels cleared in Los Angeles County represents nearly 35.3 percent of the 788 properties in the county affected by the Woolsey Fire and so far determined eligible for the state program. The 31 properties cleared in Ventura County represents nearly 32.3 percent of the properties in that county affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires deemed eligible so far.
DROC officials also reported that state crews have completed site assessments on 918 properties – 817 in Los Angeles County and 101 related to both fires in Ventura County, including the 309 parcels that state contractors have cleared of debris. 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 805 asbestos surveys and 102 asbestos abatements in Los Angeles County, as well as 85 asbestos surveys and 10 abatements 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. Contractors also may tip chimneys for later removal. If a property does not contain ACMs, debris removal officials schedule it for debris removal. If a property contains ACMs, debris removal officials schedule for an abatement.
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.
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