The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), in conjunction with Los Angeles County and participating state and federal agencies, announced today that they would be extending the date and accepting Woolsey Fire survivor’s Right-of-Entry (ROE) forms for the Consolidated Debris Removal Program until Feb. 15, 2019. Although the initial submission deadline was January 31, 2019, officials are allowing limited additional time for late submissions to accommodate survivors who are still working through this part of their recovery process.
It is critical for all property owners with structures significantly damaged by the fire to clear their debris, either by signing up for the state’s consolidated debris removal program or by cleaning the debris privately toavoid creating a public health nuisance and being subject to summary abatement procedures.
Property owners participating in the state-ran program incur no direct costs for the removal of eligible debris, including ash, metal and concrete, as well as foundations. Interested property owners, including those who do not have debris removal insurance coverage, simply need to complete and submit to Public Works their ROE permit form. The ROE allows state contractors to access the property.
Property owners who have opted-in will be notified 24-48 hours prior to the start of debris removal operations on their property. They may walk the property with crews before work begins and be on site during the process.
The state’s program has advanced to Phase II site assessments and asbestos surveying after completing Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) sweeps.
Site assessments include photos and documentation of property lines, the location of septic tanks, the footprints of foundations and ash, as well as trees, pools, vehicles and other objects that pose a hazard or hamper operations.
State contractors also canvass for asbestos containing materials (ACMs) and collect samples of materials suspected of containing ACMs for testing. Properties with ACMs will be scheduled for abatement. Those with no ACMs present will be scheduled for debris removal. Contractors also may tip standing chimneys for later removal.
To date, more than 198 site assessments and 135 asbestos surveys related to the Woolsey Fire have been completed in Los Angeles County.
Property owners can obtain assistance completing their ROEs by meeting one-on-one with debris removal experts from their respective counties to discuss their concerns 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. on noon on Saturdays.
For more information in Los Angeles County, visit lacounty.gov/LACountyRecovers or call 1-626-979-5370