Camp Fire: State of CA announces completion of structural debris removal

As we have know passed the one year anniversary (November 8, 2018) of the Camp Fire in Paradise that destroyed over 18,000 buildings in Paradise California. see this CAL Fire incident page for more information about the Camp Fire. I wrote a few articles earlier this year on hazardous waste clean-up and debris removal following the Camp Fire and other fires that burned in California in 2018. In particular, you may want to read my February 13, 2019 and my March 1, 2018 articles.

I had been wondering what was happening with the progress being made on the hazardous waste and debris removal in Paradise and environs following the Camp Fire. I got my answer in a November 19th report from ABC7 KRCR news Redding CA):

The State of California announced in Paradise Tuesday the completion of its structural debris removal operation following the November 8 Camp Fire. 

FEMA and CAL-OES and other entities teamed to clear nearly 11,000 properties of structural damage in nine months time from when they started the process.

Debris removal from 300 properties is not yet completed because the owners are using private contractors. Hopefully rebuilding can begin.

Here is an August 29th article (with a paywall) from the Mercury News on the progress of the post-fire clean-up after the Camp Fire as of late August 2019.

I am not going to underestimate the complexity of the process of hazardous waste and debris removal following a wildfire of the magnitude of the Camp Fire. It is complicated. And writing from New Jersey, I have no first hand knowledge of the process. My hat is off to all contractors who have been involved in the debris removal. My wishes for the residents and business owners who can now rebuild their properties is that the rebuilding goes forward as well as can be expected. As I write this the Town of Paradise Butte County Recovers website is still up chock full of a variety of information on the recovery from the Camp Fire.

Here is a video report from ABC 10 (Sacramento CA) on the rebuilding efforts in Paradise:


Direct link to video from ABC10