LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As the deadline for California wildfires survivors to enroll in the state's Consolidated Debris Removal Program approaches, state contractors continue to make progress removing eligible debris from properties whose owners already have enrolled in the program.
To date, crews have removed burned metal, concrete ash and contaminated soil from 458 properties.
That includes properties in Lake County impacted by the August Cache fire, which occurred in Clearlake.
The state reported that 64 site assessments and 64 asbestos assessments have been completed in Lake County, with 40 asbestos abatements completed. Debris removal has been completed on 60 properties.
The 458 cleared properties represent 30% of the 1,477 properties in 10 counties participating in the full debris removal program, the state reported.
Another 212 properties are participating in the hazardous trees only element of the program.
Under the program, administered by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.
Property owners opt into the program by submitting a right-of-entry form, or ROE, to their county, which allows the state to begin work on their property and incur no direct costs for the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from their properties.
Interested homeowners in Alpine, El Dorado, Lake, Lassen, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties can still sign up for the program by Nov. 30.
Find more information about the state’s Consolidated Debris Removal Program, including contacts and county-specific ROE forms here.
The program is also now available to property owners with losses from the Hopkins fire in Mendocino County, the Washington fire in Tuolumne County, the Windy fire in Tulare County, and the French fire in Kern County. The deadline for submitting ROEs for these counties will be announced shortly. Property owners should speak with their county government to learn more about the program.
Property owners cannot start rebuilding until fire debris is removed from their properties and soil samples taken from the property meet state environmental health and safety standards.”
Officials said property owners also can do the work themselves or hire a private contractor, but the work must meet the same state standards as the State Program. If work is started by the property owner or contractor, they become ineligible for the State Program.
Steps left to complete
Before homeowners can begin rebuilding, cleared properties need additional work including:
• Separate contractors collect soil samples for verification at a laboratory that they meet state environmental health and safety standards.
• Contractors next may install erosion control measures.
• Certified arborists or professional foresters assess wildfire-damaged trees in danger of falling on the public or public infrastructure for removal by separate contractors.
• Finally, state officials inspect the property to verify all completed work meets state standards. Debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials to approve the property for reconstruction.
Property owners can track progress on the Debris Operations Dashboard for the 2021 statewide wildfires. The dashboard is updated every hour and provides users with the ability to search by county or address.
Cal OES debris program working on cleanup in Lake County, across the state
- California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
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