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

2018 wildfire season: more on post-fire clean-up

I have recently written about the post-fire hazardous waste and debris removal following the Camp Fire in Butte County, the Woolsey Fire (Ventura and Los Angeles County) and the Hill Fire in Ventura County which burned close to the Woolsey Fire ( see my February 27th article which includes links to earlier articles). According to the CAL Fire incident database, structures destroyed in each fire are as follows:

Hill Fire: 4 buildings destroyed.
Woolsey Fire: 1,643 destroyed and 341 damaged.
Camp Fire: 18,804 buildings destroyed.

I know about the magnitude of the Camp Fire clean-up, I also know that disasters that destroy a large number of properties such as tornadoes, massive flooding, hurricanes have the potential to at least put a strain on local landfill capacity. At the same time, I know from my work on earlier articles about the 2019 post-fire clean-ups that each of the affected counties have put in a lot of work in planning their respective clean-ups including finding landfills that can take both hazardous and non-hazardous debris as well as ash. I also understand that some debris, e.g. concrete and metal, will be recycled. With all this in mind, I did a search on the internet earlier today and found a January 10,  2019 article, updated on January 29th from the Sacramento Bee reporting on some challenges facing local and state officials involved in the Camp Fire clean-up. This article reports that the recycling of concrete and metal is controversial because near-by Chico residents are understandably hesitant about plans to have a scrapyard in their town (in addition, see my January 11th article). As I write this article, I don't know where this scrapyard is located.

I was interested in a second challenge cited in the Sacramento Bee article, a controversy involving one of the subsidiaries of the contractor awarded the soil testing contract,  two employees plead guilty to faking soil tests on an earlier project and sentenced to prison. The company, Tetra Tech said that they were rogue employees and have addressed the problems. CalRecycle, one of the California agencies involved in the post-fire clean-up said:

CalRecycle officials said Thursday Tetra Tech was the lowest responsible bidder for the contract and that the state has confidence in the company’s work. 

“In previous wildfire debris removal operations, Tetra Tech has proven to be a reliable debris management contractor, meeting CalRecycle’s high standards for health and safety, performance, and operational accountability,” spokesman Lance Klug said in an email to The Bee.

Klug said CalRecycle has, however, implemented a new auditing process as an additional layer of oversight on current and future projects, in part because of the large size of the Camp Fire contracts. 

“All CalRecycle-managed wildfire debris removal operations are conducted with strict contractor oversight measures to protect the health of wildfire survivors, communities, and all workers involved in debris removal efforts, in addition to internal auditing systems to ensure operational accountability,” Klug wrote.

Hopefully Tetra Tech has corrected the problems and updated their procedures so that employee fraud won't happen again and that CalRecycles new audit procedures will address potential problems in the clean-up so that they can be corrected before the clean-up is completed.

The third challenge that I read about in the Sacramento Bee article concerns the question that I had: Where will the debris from the Camp Fire go? Apparently, local officials have identified three landfills that  will accept Camp Fire debris (with requisite permits). There is a nice map locating likely and possible landfills that could take Camp Fire debris. According to the Sacramento Bee:

The massive cleanup prompts other longer-term concerns. If wildfires continue to happen, are California landfills at risk of being over taxed? . . . 

Waste Management, one of the biggest haulers and landfill operators in the country, owns the Anderson landfill near Red Bluff, which just finished taking most of the Carr Fire debris and is now prepping new space for the Camp Fire. Ken Lewis, an executive with the company, says its Anderson landfill has about 60 years of capacity left. But the Camp Fire debris alone could shorten that lifespan by five years. Still, he said, he’s lobbying for the Camp Fire waste to come to his door.

Is California's landfill capacity adequate to take the waste from the 2018 wildfires, especially debris from the Camp Fire? I hope so. I know from all of my reading that the local and state officials have worked hard on the planning for the post-fire clean-up but not limited to identifying landfills that will accept the waste. I am cautiously hopeful that there is enough landfill capacity to take debris from these three wildfires, but you never know. For good or bad, time will tell. Looking to the future, since debris from each large wildfire can shorten the lifespan of a landfill, what will happen if these mega-fires in California continue?

I have only been writing about mega-wildfires in California. Mega wildfires can occur anywhere so other states and countries may well face the issue of adequate landfill capacity sometime down the road.

2018 wildfire season: Woolsey and Hill Fires post-fire hazardous waste clean-up

I have written four articles to date on the Camp Fire post-fire hazardous waste clean-up, see the end of this article for a listing and summary of each of the four articles. For the last several weeks, the residents and businesses who lost their residences and or places of business (or had substantial damage) as a result of the Camp Fire have been going through the post-fire hazardous waste assessment removal process (part 1). Once part 1 was complete meaning that the household hazardous waste has been removed (the property will be tagged after part 1 is complete). the clean-up moves to (part 2), debris removal. During this same time period, the residents and businesses who lost their residences and/or places of business as a result of the Woolsey and Hill Fires were going through the same two-part clean-up process. Please see the summary of my earlier four articles at the end of this article for information on where to find more information on the post-fire hazardous waste and debris removal programs.

The Woolsey Fire burned portions of Los Angeles and Ventura County while the Hill Fire burned in Ventura County. Much of what I wrote about in my four articles about post-fire clean-up after the Camp Fire will apply to the Woolsey and Hill Fires. At the time I wrote this article, part 1, household hazardous waste removal for properties burned by the Woolsey and Hill Fires is complete and the debris removal phase (part 2) is under way. Each county has a webpage (all links current as of the date I wrote this article) devoted to the post-fire hazardous waste removal and debris removal process:

Ventura County Recovers, page on debris removal
Los Angeles County Recovers, page on debris removal
CAL Recycle page on wildfire debris removal and clean-up

As I write this, it has been over three months since the Woolsey and Hill Fires were extinguished (mid-November 2018), but consequences to public health from the fire debris as well as the ash may still remain. Perhaps mold will be an issue because of the water used to extinguish the fire as well as the heavy rains that have occurred over the fire area. Once the household hazardous waste is cleaned up ash that will be removed in part 2, debris removal. Ash can be dangerous to health, so precautions are still important. It is important to obey any restrictions on re-entry, even after the property has been certified to be free of household hazardous waste (propane tanks, lead batteries, paint, asbestos, solvents, pesticides etc.) as local and state officials may still have restrictions on re-entry especially when the part 2 debris removal is going on. In my December 19th article on the clean-up after the Camp Fire, I summarized what happens in both phases of the post-fire clean-up. The same process applies to clean-up after the Woolsey and Hill Fires.

I don't know if local officials are still giving out appropriate protective suits and respirators to affected property owners, if not before going to your property talk to your local health department about how to protect yourself with pants, long sleeved shirts, and where to to get goggles and respirators. I know that this process has to be frustrating, but protecting your health and that of your families is top priority (see my January 4th article for more information). Go to any public meetings, call your local officials if you have any questions. If you have any health concerns -- including but not limited to asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease and other respiratory conditions, heart disease, and allergies -- at a minimum you will want to follow the precautions that I wrote about on January 4th, and perhaps talk to your health care provider before entering the property or have someone else go to the property in your place.

One of the reasons I wanted to write this article on the clean-up following the Woolsey and Hill Fires is because I came across a short report with audio from KPCC 89.3 Southern California Public Radio, this should be a direct link to the audio report from KPCC. The reporter paints a picture with words of the process of debris removal from one house that was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire.

I hope to be able to write more about the debris removal (part 2) phase of the post-fire clean-up affecting the Woolsey, Hill and Camp Fire in a couple of days, stay tuned.

Summary of articles to date about post fire hazardous waste clean-up and debris removal in California:

• December 19, 2018: Camp Fire, Paradise California. Summary of post-fire clean-up, part 1 (household hazardous waste removal and part 2 (debris removal).
• January 4, 2019: update on progress to date of Camp Fire household hazardous waste clean-up, excerpt from Butte County Hazard Advisory on precautions residents should take when re-entering their property after household hazardous waste (part 1) clean-up is complete but before debris removal (and ash removal, soil testing) is complete.
• January 11, 2019: update on progress to date of Camp Fire household hazardous waste clean-up. Conundrum on where to put non-hazardous debris from Camp Fire.
• February 13, 2019 discussion of California government sponsored debris removal (part 2) and what is and is not eligible to be removed under this program. References in this article are to Butte County, but the information would apply to the Woolsey and Hill Fires. Residents also have the option to use their own contractors but must comply with state and local regulations, see this page on property clean-up from Butte County for more information (link is active as of the date I wrote this article).

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up - Feb 2019 update

I have written Three articles on the Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up. On December 19, 2018 I introduced the hazardous waste clean-up that is taking place in two phases. Phase one, completed on or about February 2, 2019, involved the removal of household hazardous waste See this Camp Fire Response graphic (I am not sure how long this graphic will be available). With the completion of phase one, phase two is probably well under way. In my January 4th article I covered precautions that people should take when re-entering their property after the hazardous waste is completed but before debris and ash removal is completed. Finally, I wrote on January 11th about the conundrum of where to put the non-hazardous debris, I don't know the resolution of this.

My understanding is that fire related debris is removed under phase two through a government-sponsored debris removal program for those who have elected to participate or through an alternative debris removal program. Links to the phase 2 program may be found on the Butte County Recovers website. As I write this, I am not sure how long these links will be active.

To the best of my knowledge ash will be removed under phase two. More soil samples will be taken under phase two for testing. See this CAL recycles webpage for more information.

The following items are eligible for removal according to this document on the 2018 Consolidated Wildfire Debris Removal Program (California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, CAL Recycle, Butte County Recovers, Town of Paradise California):

• Destroyed residential houses (includes all out buildings on the property).
• Residential houses with significant damage (1 wall standing).
• Occupant damaged houses.
• Occupant owned manufactured housing units (mobile homes).
• Commercial / rental manufactured housing units (mobile homes).
• Commercial structures.
• Combined use, commercial and residential.
• Vehicles and boats if on property where a home was destroyed / there is another structure eligible for removal.
• Destroyed garage / shed / non-commercial barns / play structures and other outbuildings will be removed if it is 120 square feet or more.
• Foundations (slab on grade excluding seismic piers) will be removed.
• Basements . wine cellars will be removed or fenced.

The following items are not eligible for removal according to this document on the 2018 Consolidated Wildfire Debris Removal Program:

• Residential houses with significant damage, more that 1 wall standing. However, the structure may be eligible if it presents an immediate threat to life, public health, or safety. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Partially damaged houses (minimal damage)
• Vehicles and boats not meeting the criteria for removal (above). However, if they are in the public right of way, the county will remove / owner can have insurance remove.
• Destroyed garage / shed / non-commercial barns / play structures and other outbuildings it it is less than 120 square feet.
• Residential swimming pools are not removed but will be fenced.
• Driveways and retaining walls.
• Trees are not eligible for removal unless they present a danger to workers
• Patios.
• Seismic piers.
• Wells.
• Septic tanks.
• Docks are not eligible unless it presents an immediate threat to life, public health, or safety. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up: a conundrum where to put non-hazardous debris?

The clean-up after the Camp Fire is still in phase one, the clean-up of hazardous waste where according to this Butte County website, 61.6 percent of properties in Paradise have been designated and signed as having hazardous wastes removed, see my January 4th article for more information. Once the hazardous waste clean-up is completed then phase two starts, debris removal. Where debris removal includes non-hazardous debris including but not limited to remnants of burned structures, furniture,non-hazardous household items and personal effects. See the Butte County Debris Removal website and my December 19th article for more information

I am not quite sure if ash is removed during phase one or phase two.

There are thousands of properties that will be included in phase two of the post Camp Fire clean-up. The conundrum is where will the non-hazardous debris go?  There are designated landfills for hazardous debris in California and Nevada. Officials are looking at nearby towns in northern California for a "temporary scrapyard" to store burned non-hazardous debris. Residents of these towns have understandable environmental and public health concerns. I have no answer for the conundrum of where to put the debris. But I can say that it is not uncommon that residents do not want such a scrapyard in their town. There is an article from Emergency Management reporting on various issues involving where to put non-hazardous debris from the Camp Fire.

As I said, I have no answers. It is a conundrum. This is a question facing both disaster officials and the residents of nearby towns who have been approached about hosting this scrapyard. Public comments from residents of towns under consideration to host this scrapyard have been solicited. At some point a site for this scrapyard will be chosen and people are going to be unhappy.

My thanks to Mike Archer of Wildfire News of the Day for sharing the article from Emergency Management the other day.

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up -- Jan 4 2019 update

I wrote about the hazardous waste clean-up following the Camp Fire in my December 19, 2018 article. Recall that part one of the clean-up involves hazardous waste clean-up by teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the assistance of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Part two of the clean-up involves debris and ash removal. See the Butte County (CA) site on post-fire debris removal for more information.

As I write this, 45.8 percent of 13,000 properties in Paradise, California are designated (and signed) as hazardous waste removal being completed. The sign posted on the property designates that hazardous waste clean-up has been completed. In addition, a hazard fact sheet is posted. See this interactive website for current information, with maps.

I don't exactly know current information on resident re-entry into the fire area. That is, in early December 2018, I know that residents went to check points where giving a safety kit with information and protective clothing and a N95 mask to wear and instructions (see this re-entry page from Butte County recovers). Even when a property has been designated as having hazardous waste removal being complete, people must still take precautions when re-entering their property. Hazardous waste may still remain in building materials, ash on the ground and other areas of the property. As stated earlier, debris and ash removal falls under part two of the clean-up. Water may still be contaminated, including well water. Follow any water usage restrictions. Wells and septic systems may have been compromised.

I close with an excerpt from this Butte County Hazard Advisory:

DEBRIS AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

Fire damage can create significant health and safety hazards that may be present at individual properties. It is recommended that structure ash is not disturbed due to potential exposure to toxic materials. If you choose to visit your property, please consider the following:

• Wear sturdy shoes (steel toes and shanks are recommended) and clothing.
• Hazardous chemicals and conditions may be present.
• Inspect propane tanks for visible damage before turning on.
• Coverall clothing when in proximity to ash. Wear gloves, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants to avoid skin contact, whenever possible.  
• Goggles should be worn.Contact with wet ash may cause chemical burns or irritation on skin. Change your shoes and clothing prior to leaving the decontamination site, to avoid tracking ash into your car, home, etc.
• Anything in contact with ash should be cleaned and sanitized. Sorting through/cleaning fire debris is not recommended.
• Be aware of slip, trip, fall, puncture and overhead hazards.
• Do not use leaf blowers or do any activities that will put ash into the air.
• Wear a close fitting respirator mask that is rated N-95 or P-100 to block particles from ash or smoke from being inhaled. N-95 respirators are well-
• fitted when they do not come into contact with facial hair; strap tension is adequate, not overly tightened; and masks fit across the nose bridge. A tight seal would not be possible for most children, even with a small adult-size model. People with heart or lung disease should consult their physician before using a respirator. 
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the only agency that certifies respirators to determine that they adequately protect people. Look for NIOSH approval on the package or label.

DO NOT REMOVE ASH AND DEBRIS WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM BUTTE COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH 

Links in this article were valid at the time I wrote the article on January 4, 2019. I assume that these links will be active for as long as the clean-up continues. 

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up

After I finished graduate school, I spent some time on a job where I had to have a passing familiarity with remediation of household, commercial, and industrial hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is any type of waste that poses a risk to public health, animals and the environment. No I am not any kind of expert in remediation or in environmental science or engineering. But I had to know the lingo and have a passing familiarity with what was involved with remediating sites contaminated with hazardous waste. At the very least, I had to be able listen and understand. That was over fifteen years ago. So when I was perusing some recent articles on the Camp Fire that recently decimated Paradise California, I was interested to see an article from KQED about the hazardous waste clean-up from the Camp Fire, go here to read the article.

I know that this is not the first large fire where hazardous waste clean-up is necessary. However, I was paying attention this time and because of my background fifteen plus years ago, I knew that I had to write about the hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise following the Camp Fire. It is important to consider that the hazardous waste clean-up is ongoing in Paradise at the time I write this and will be for awhile.

The hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise started on or about Monday, December 3rd. However, evacuation orders had to be lifted before work could start in a specific neighborhood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) as assisting the EPA. Various agencies in Paradise are assisting including but not limited to the Police. My understanding is that the first phase of the post-fire debris removal program involves the cleaning up and removing household hazardous waste without cost to the homeowner. Commercial hazardous waste is also cleaned up in phase one. Household hazardous waste includes but is not limited to: asbestos, batteries (lead), paints, solvents, pesticides and herbicides, propane tanks, cleaners, etc. Once the household hazardous waste is removed that property will identified by means of a tag.

Only when the household hazardous waste has been removed, then part two, debris removal can begin. In part two the soil from the ash footprint will be scraped down to 3 to 6 inches with samples sent to a lab for analysis. If the soil testing indicates contamination, than more soil is removed and another soil sample is taken until the soil test is clear of contaminants. Go to this Butte County site on post-fire debris removal  for more information. As I write this, I am assuming that this site will be available until the debris removal is completed. It is my understanding that ash is removed in part 2, debris removal.

I don’t know exactly know how long the hazardous waste clean-up will take, and then there will part two, debris removal. I am also aware that there have to be other issues that homeowners whose residences are more or less intact after the Camp Fire may have to contend with, such as damage to private water wells and septic systems. Public water supplies are likely to be contaminated as well and residents should pay attention to any advisories regarding using their water, including but not limited to boil water advisories. Then there will be the health effects if any ash is left. And of course, the electric infrastructure is damaged.