Three months after the devastating Camp Fire, the once-bustling town of Paradise is now abuzz with a new kind of activity: 400 dump trucks continuously hauling waste to several landfills. Officials are calling it the largest post-disaster cleanup the state has ever dealt with, with an estimated total of over 5 million tons of waste to be removed. The inferno displaced 50,000 residents and claimed the lives of 85.
The cleanup effort is largely in the hands of three contractors, which were awarded contracts to the tune of $1.7 billion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is projected to cover about 75 percent of the costs.
Cleanup crews are beginning “Phase II” of the process: debris removal. “Phase I” was hazardous household materials disposal. According to California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) they’re shooting for about a year to get debris removal done.
Landowners are required to get their properties cleaned up from fire debris, either by the state’s contractors or by a privately-hired contractor. If properties aren’t cleaned up, landowners could face public nuisance and abatement procedures, according to Cal OES.
A government program is offering cleanup to landowners without charge, although insurance reimbursement will be required in some cases. But sign-up for the program has been lethargic. Officials were pushing to get landowners to submit right-of-entry forms—required to participate in the program—by Feb. 15, just after press time.
As of Feb. 8, only about 8,000 right-of-entry forms had been submitted, according to Cal OES. By comparison, debris from an estimated 14,000 structures needs to be removed in Paradise alone.
For property owners who opt to go with a private contractor, the deadline to submit a right-of-entry form is Feb. 28.
Deadlines approach for assistance
Feb. 15 marked another important deadline: the FEMA deadline to register for assistance. Homeowners, renters and small business owners may apply even if they have insurance, says a FEMA news release, since FEMA disaster assistance “often provides benefits not covered by many insurers.” Register with FEMA online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.
Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration was offering low-interest disaster loans, also with a Feb. 15 deadline. “SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property,” the FEMA release says. Visit disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ for more information.
New FEMA water grant
Safe drinking water has been a problem for residents who have been able to return to their homes. To that end, a new $1.4 million FEMA grant has been awarded to the Paradise Irrigation District, according to a Feb. 8 press release from U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01).
“With much of the town’s infrastructure destroyed or heavily damaged, we need to expedite the money and process to bring it back into operation again,” said LaMalfa in the release. “I’m happy to announce this FEMA funding to assist with restoring Paradise’s water system and bring safe drinking water back to residents. I’ll continue working at the federal level to secure additional resources to rebuild the infrastructure Paradise needs to recover, improve and thrive.”
Tree removal
Tree removal is another tricky part of the cleanup process. Government contractors will only remove trees that directly pose problems for structure site cleanup. That means a lot of dead and dying trees will have to be removed at landowner expense. However, some insurance policies may cover tree removal, and landowners should save all receipts related to cleanup in order that their insurance reimburses them, rather than FEMA.
A contractor familiar with the cleanup effort told WLJ that a lot of trees need to be removed from within Paradise city limits—possibly even a billion board feet, some with (limited) timber value. But there’s a big hitch: Any trees removed for commercial value will be subject to the California Forest Practices Act and permitting process, according to the Butte County Recovers website. This means hiring a registered professional forester, licensed timber operator or arborist and coming up with a state-approved timber plan.
State legislation introduced
State legislation has been introduced to reduce the time and cost posed by state forestry regulations, as well as California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) has introduced several bills specific to Butte County (AB 430 and AB 431) to exempt forestry practices, certain housing developments, and a new sewer system in Paradise from regulatory red tape.
“Today I am introducing a package of bills that will help expedite housing production in Butte County while also streamlining removal of dead and dying trees and vital infrastructure improvements,” Gallagher posted on Facebook on Feb. 11.
“We must get new housing online as soon as possible. The legislature has streamlined environmental review for sports arenas. Surely we can do the same for housing, especially for people who are recovering from a catastrophic event.”
Additionally, the state assembly early this month approved AB 72, a bill to rapidly address some of the local financial shortfalls to critical government services in the aftermath of the Camp Fire. The bill, enacted on Feb. 13, was the first one to be signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. — Theodora Johnson,WLJ correspondent
