Starting Tuesday, residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the Los Angeles County wildfires can opt in to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers clear debris from their properties for free.
The wildfires debris removal process is in Phase 1, which involves clearing hazardous materials from properties by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Once the EPA finishes its work and the property is considered safe, the Corps of Engineers can remove the debris from properties whose owners opt-in to the free removal program under Phase 2.
Property owners can only receive a Phase 2 permit if they received EPA clearance.
Residents also can also opt out of the program and hire their own contractors.
Starting Tuesday, residents can fill out Right of Entry forms to opt in or out of the clearance program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works is coordinating the debris-removal process in conjunction with the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers.
The process was a point of discussion Friday when President Trump toured the Palisades Fire burn area. At a meeting following the tour, Trump said residents should be allowed to immediately access their properties to clear debris. EPA officials insist that household hazardous wastes, such as oils, paints, lithium-ion batteries, pesticides and propane tanks present a danger to returning residents, particularly if their containers were damaged in the fire.
Final evacuation orders were lifted Monday for the Palisades Fire on the LA County coast. Both the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire northeast of Altadena are nearing 100-percent containment three weeks after they started in a Santa Ana windstorm.
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