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 more than 100 properties affected by the Woolsey Fire that have completed the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program.
Submission of the reports to Los Angeles County Public Works and Ventura County Environmental Health Division, respectively, clears the way for rebuilding to begin for 96 property owners in Los Angeles County and 11 in Ventura County.
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 and 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.
To date, contractors have removed debris from 413 properties – 376 in Los Angeles County and 37 in Ventura County. The 413 cleared properties include the 107 sites for which final inspection reports have been submitted.
According to DROC officials, state contractors have completed site assessments on 944 properties – 841 in Los Angeles County and 103 in Ventura County, including the 413 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 819 asbestos surveys and 104 asbestos abatements in Los Angeles County, as well as 90 asbestos surveys and nine 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. 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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