It’s been over half a year since the devastating Palisades Fire swept through the Pacific Palisades, charring over 23,000 acres and leaving a dozen people dead in its wake.
Flames reduced thousands of structures to rubble and ash, prompting a massive cleanup operation by numerous agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA, as well as state and local resources.
Crews have been working to remove hazardous debris and clear properties since the very first day they were allowed to after the fire. It’s been months straight of bulldozing, digging and clearing debris, but officials are now stopping to celebrate a significant milestone in the cleanup process that has seen millions of tons of ash, concrete and toxic soil being taken away.
It was originally thought that the Palisades Fire debris removal process would take a year-and-a-half. Officials now say that, after just eight months, it’s complete.
“This is the last lot in which they are going to remove the debris, and so the Army Corps of Engineers’ part of debris removal is complete many months ahead of schedule,” Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) said on Tuesday afternoon.
The massive operation to turn the area from a disaster zone to one that can support rebuilding was the fastest in U.S. history, according to officials.
And while the cleanup is mandatory for construction work to start, residents are advised that there is still much work to be done.
“We have a host of issues to deal with,” said Congressman Sherman, whose jurisdiction encompasses nearly all of where the fire burned. “Whether it be additional federal aid to those who were not adequately insured, to getting the insurance companies to outline what they need to see here in order to write fire insurance in the future.”
“Because, if you can’t get it insured, you can’t get a mortgage and you can’t rebuild,” he added.
In the wake of the fires, both L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have signed legislation streamlining the permitting process for those who need to rebuild and making it easier for affected families to get back to normal.
Resources for Palisades Fire victims can be found here. For information on rebuilding, click here.
KTLA 5’s John Fenoglio contributed to this report.
The post Palisades Fire debris cleanup reaches major milestone ahead of schedule appeared first on KTLA.
