LA Fires: Crews removing dangerous debris left by Eaton Fire

In Altadena, crews are working nonstop to clear out the mess left behind by the devastating Eaton Fire. That includes Environmental Protection Agency contractors who are working to remove hazardous debris in phase one of the cleanup process.

FOX 11 rode along with the EPA Wednesday along Santa Anita Avenue, as hazmat crews worked for the second day, sifting through what's left of homes. Eight teams of contractors showed up at damaged or destroyed homes and carefully removed anything that could pose a danger—from e-waste to toxic chemicals.

"The crews have to do everything by hand. They’ve got a lot of hazards to deal with. Chimneys that are still standing, walls that are still standing, basements are dangerous," said Harry Allen, a federal on-scene coordinator with the EPA.

Crews are painstakingly going through the rubble of each property, trying to identify anything that might be hazardous.

"Everything from spray paint cans to pesticides or fertilizers," said Allen.

Crews have 6,800 properties to go through in Altadena alone during phase one, so this is a massive process.

"It's the biggest we've ever done," said Allen.

But it's one the EPA is hoping to get done as quickly as possible.

"We've planned to get all the resources we need to complete it in 30 days. We don't know if we will, but we'll try our hardest to do that. We’re going to have over a thousand contractors working and all the hazmat specialists we can find," said Allen.

Once a property passes a phase one hazardous debris inspection, EPA crews are putting signs on the properties to indicate they're cleared for phase two.

"That's the physical removal of debris and ash, either by a public contractor for FEMA or by a resident's own contractor," said Allen.

Arthur Kadzhikyan, whose gas station was thankfully spared by the Eaton Fire, says many of his customers lost their homes.

But he's encouraged to see the cleanup process beginning—and his community, ever so slowly, starting to heal.

"I just wish them the best, everyone—the crew that's working on it and the people who are slowly going to get their lives back to normal," said Kadzhikyan.

To learn more about the debris removal process in Los Angeles County, click here: https://recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/

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