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 nearly 700 of the 926 properties affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires that are eligible for the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, debris removal officials announced today.
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 621 property owners in Los Angeles County and 69 in Ventura County, including all six affected by the Hill Fire.
The 690 final inspection reports submitted by debris removal officials to local authorities in both counties represent 74.51 percent of the 926 properties eligible for the state program. The 621 submissions to Los Angeles County officials represent 75.09 percent of the 827 properties eligible for the program in L.A. County, while the 69 submissions to Ventura County represent 69.70 percent of its 99 participating properties.
During the state’s debris removal operation, contractors conduct site assessments, asbestos surveys and abatements as required for every site. Crews also remove the fire debris, which consists of burnt metal, ash and other burn debris, concrete and contaminated soil. Following this debris removal process, the surveying contractor returns to the site and collects soil samples for testing at state-certified laboratories.
Once the state certified laboratories verify that the samples taken from the properties meet state environmental health and safety criteria, contractors install fiber rolls and apply a virgin-based, biodegradable mulch to every cleared property whose owners have opted to have contractors implement the two types of erosion control measures. Following these erosion control measures, state officials and staff conduct a walkthrough of each property to ensure crews completed all of the requirements of the program to the state’s high standard.
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 907 properties – 812 in Los Angeles County and 95 in Ventura County. The 907 cleared properties include the 690 sites with submitted final inspection reports.
The 907 cleared sites in both counties represent approximately 97.95 percent of the properties currently eligible for the state program. The 812 cleared properties in Los Angeles and the 95 cleared properties in Ventura County represent approximately 98.19 percent and 95.96 percent of the eligible properties in those counties, respectively.
In addition, state contractors have:
- Conducted 918 site assessments in Los Angeles County and 112 in Ventura County;
- Completed 915 asbestos surveys in Los Angeles County and 105 in Ventura County;
- Abated 144 of 146 properties in Los Angeles County and 21 of 22 properties in Ventura County where they identified bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials;
- Removed more than 360,767 tons of debris from properties in Los Angeles County and nearly 149,143 tons from properties in Ventura County;
- Approved 742 soil samples from participating properties in Los Angeles County and 83 from properties in Ventura County; and
- Completed erosion control work on 594 properties in Los Angeles County and on 65 properties in Ventura County.
Participating property owners who are unsure where they are in the debris removal process should call the DROC to obtain status information before they start reconstruction or enter the burned debris footprint.
The DROC is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The number for Los Angeles County property owners is 1-626-979-5370. The number for Ventura County property owners is 1-805-504-7869. 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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