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State reports on progress removing wildfire debris from Bay Area counties
Under the program, administered by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, in conjunction with participating counties, property owners incur no direct costs for participation.
To date, state contractors have cleared burned metal, concrete, ash and contaminated soil from 540, or 82.6 percent, of the 654 participating properties in Napa, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Mendocino, Lake and San Mateo counties. Statewide, contractors have finished removing debris from 2,704 or 72.2 percent, of 3,745 participating parcels.
Although removal of debris from the properties moves property owners one step closer to rebuilding, debris officials remind property owners that the process is not over and that state contractors must complete additional work before they can begin reconstruction.
Once a state crew has cleared a property of eligible debris, the surveying contractor will return to the site and collect soil samples for testing at a state certified laboratory to verify that the samples taken from an owner's property meet state environmental health and safety criteria.
If the soil samples meet state environmental and safety criteria, contractors then 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 the property to ensure that all work done by state crews meets the state's standard. If work meets the state's standards, debris officials submit a final inspection report to local officials, clearing the way for the property owner to begin reconstruction.
In Napa County, crews have cleared eligible debris from 284, or 88.5 percent of the 320 properties whose owners are participating in the state program. Debris officials have returned 52 of the cleared properties to county officials as ready for reconstruction.
Additional work by state crews in Napa County includes the completion of 319 site assessments and 318 asbestos assessments, as well as the abatement of 71 properties where contractors identified bulk quantities of asbestos containing materials, or ACMs.
In Sonoma County, state crews have cleared debris from 142, or 67.3 percent, of the 211 properties in the county whose owners are participating in the program. State debris officials have returned 25 of the cleared properties to county officials as ready for reconstruction.
Contractors in Sonoma County also have completed 211 site assessments, 207 asbestos assessments and 54 asbestos abatements.
Contractors have removed eligible debris from 68, or 95.8 percent, of the 71 participating properties in Santa Clara County. Debris officials have returned 13 properties back to county officials. Earlier, crews completed site and asbestos assessments on each participating property in the county, as well as 40 abatements.
Contractors working in Mendocino County have removed eligible debris from all 31 participating properties after site and asbestos assessments of each parcel and asbestos abatements on four properties.
In Lake County, crews have removed debris from all nine participating properties after site and asbestos assessments of each site and asbestos abatements on three parcels.
Crews in San Mateo County have cleared eligible debris from half of 12 properties in the county whose owners are participating in the program following site and asbestos assessments of each site and abatement of bulk quantities of ACMs on five sites.
State officials coordinating the removal of debris caused by last year's wildfires are reminding property owners participating in the state's Consolidated Debris Removal Program that performing any debris removal work themselves once state contractors have begun will result in their disqualification from the state program.