Army Corps of Engineers Completes LA Wildfire Cleanup

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ wildfire cleanup efforts are nearly complete almost eight months after the deadly blazes.

The Army Corps is preparing to clear debris from the last residential parcel that opted into the federal cleanup endeavor, the Los Angeles Times reported. The cleanup conclusion comes roughly four months earlier than the Army Corps’ predicted goal of next January and far ahead of initial predictions by experts and lawmakers.

Federal contractors have cleared 2.5 million tons of fire wreckage from nearly 10,000 properties.

The process began in late January when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supervised the collection and disposal of hazardous materials such as lithium-ion batteries and compressed gas canisters. The following month, the Army Corps began overseeing work crews in charge of clearing toxic ash, rubble and contaminated soil from the properties.

While residential cleanup is nearly complete, federal contractors are still finishing up work on a handful of commercial properties as well as Eliot Arts Magnet Academy in Altadena and a group of cabins in Millard Canyon in the U.S. Forest Service area.

To mark the milestone, local officials gathered at a parcel in the Pacific Palisades that once hosted a three-bedroom home on a hillside overlooking the ocean. The charred home belonged to 93-year-old Noland West, a longtime Pacific Palisades resident.

“I would not want to live anywhere else,” West said. “I got away with the clothes on my back. That was it. We’ve been living in hotels ever since until we finally found an apartment. There’s nothing to describe the feeling. It was heart-wrenching. I miss my house.”

Rebuilding efforts in the Palisades and Eaton burn zones are underway, albeit at a somewhat glacial pace. Last week, a property in Malibu became the first in the seaside city to receive a rebuilding permit. In the unincorporated parts of L.A. County, including Altadena and areas northwest of the Pacific Palisades, officials have issued 258 rebuilding permits, including 17 in the Palisades area and 241 in the Eaton burn zone, according to the county’s permitting progress tracker.

— Chris Malone Méndez