Recovery Continues in Greenville Following Devastating Dixie Fire

The Dixie Fire sparked on July 14, 2021 and quickly spread. Within weeks it had engulfed thousands of acres.

At first, the fire was heading away from the town of Greenville, a small northern California community home to less than 1,000. Winds quickly shifted, pushing a wall of flames toward the town and on August 4, 2021, the Dixie Fire destroyed most of the small community.

Many residents lost everything they own.

Linda Batson and her family have spent most of their lives in the small Plumas County town. Several of her properties were destroyed.

“My brother said we lost our home. We lost our town and we actually lost like our homeland. Our identity,” said Batson.

 

Although this was a devastating loss for her and others, clean up was necessary to start the process of rebuilding.

At the guidance of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), state crews completed Phase I of the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program (Program). Phase I involved removing household hazardous waste from affected properties.

Batson then signed the Right-of-Entry (ROE) form that allowed state crews on her property to complete Phase II, removing fire-related structural debris – all at no-cost to the property owner.

“They answered any questions very patiently, which was very important for a senior citizen who had just lost three buildings in the fire,” said Batson. “All the Cal OES people and anyone else who came along was making every effort to make it easy for us in watching this process.”

She joins other property owners that are beginning the clean up by the state. So far in Plumas County, 547 property owners have submitted an ROE and 510 have had their sites assessed.

 

Interested property owners can still sign up for the state’s Program until November 30, 2021.

Find more information about the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, including contacts and county-specific ROE forms here.