As heavy as 100 Eiffel Towers: Monumental L.A. County fire debris removal could finish by June [View all]

Source: LA Times

A small army of laborers, heavy-equipment operators, hazmat technicians and truck drivers have cleared more than one-third of the home lots left in charred ruin by January’s firestorms — a frenetic pace that suggests the bulk of the vast government-run cleanup in Los Angeles County could be completed as early as June, officials say.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officers overseeing the effort said the crews of mostly private contractors are working at a record clip for a wildfire recovery, clearing nearly 120 lots a day and operating at close to the capacity that roads — and residents close to the fire zones — can tolerate.

The scope of the unfinished work came into clearer focus last week, with the passing of the April 15 deadline for residents of Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu to opt in or out of the cleanup.

Some 10,373 property owners completed “right-of-entry” forms, authorizing the Army Corps and government contractors to work on their properties, while 1,698 others opted out of the program, many because they wanted their own crews to perform the work.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-20/palisades-eaton-fire-debris-removal-record-pace