Los Angeles County officials urged wildfire survivors on Wednesday to make critical decisions about property debris removal before the March 31 deadline, as the region simultaneously braces for heavy rainfall that threatens burn areas with potential mudflows and landslides.
Mark Pestrella, Director of Public Works for Los Angeles County, emphasized the importance of property owners finalizing their decision to either opt into the government-led debris removal program or pursue private cleanup efforts.
"A March 31 deadline is approaching in which we need to hear from survivors, from eligible property owners to make a decision about whether or not you're going to have the government do this program, or you're going to be doing that on your own," Pestrella said during the county's final weekly press conference on wildfire recovery efforts.
Pestrella said he understood the delays but that residents were out of time and had to make a decision.
"What I'm finding is that a number of people, a lot of people, have made this option, leaving open their option by applying for this program, but haven't actually signed the final signature to it," Pestrella explained. "I get it, what people are doing is trying to decide who can do this faster, who can do this quicker."
The county's debris removal program has made significant progress since the devastating wildfires erupted more than two months ago. According to county officials, over 4,000 rights of entry (ROEs) have been validated and submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers for Phase Two debris removal operations. The county expects to reach 5,000 ROEs by Thursday.
Colonel Eric Swenson of the US Army Corps of Engineers reported active work on 629 parcels in various stages of debris removal, with 242 parcels completely cleared to date. The Corps continues to make daily progress, processing nearly 4,000 rights of entry received from the county.
"If we received your validated right of entry from the county and processed it, you will receive a notification call three to five days out for when your property is up for removal," Colonel Swenson said. "We're building crews every day, and so we'll be making more and more calls every day."
County Supervisor Kathryn Barger described the current effort as "the fastest debris removal ever that has been stood up post-fire in the history of Los Angeles County, at a scale that has never been seen before." However, she said more work is needed to help residents rebuild quickly.
The debris removal process has been comprehensive, with Phase One operations already removing more than 300 tons of household hazardous waste. Phase Two operations are expected to clear approximately 4.5 million tons of debris from more than 13,500 eligible properties. The county has received over 9,000 right of entry forms thus far.
While debris removal progresses, LA County faces immediate challenges from an incoming storm system. Officials announced evacuation orders and warnings for vulnerable burn areas, with rainfall expected to be heaviest Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
"We expect one to two inches for coast and valley areas, two to four inches in the foothills and mountains, rainfall intensity between a half to three-quarters of an inch per hour, with about a 20% chance of thundershowers," Pestrella said. The peak intensity is forecast for Thursday between 2 and 5 a.m. but rain is predicted for several days.
In preparation for the storm, the Pacific Coast Highway will close beginning at noon Wednesday, with local mountain roads closing by 6 p.m. Officials have identified vulnerable locations and conducted targeted evacuations.
"We do expect that we're going to have some debris flow in this event, meaning we will see debris in streets at the locations that have already been identified. We expect traffic issues, we expect unsafe conditions for driving," Pestrella warned.
Residents in fire-impacted areas are urged to visit ready.lacounty.gov/rain for emergency alerts, preparedness tips, and sandbag pickup locations. They can also call the county's dispatch number at 818-106-7545 or 1-800-675-4357 for assistance during the storm.
Despite the conclusion of weekly press conferences, county officials committed to continuing support for wildfire survivors. Weekly community meetings will continue every Monday at 4 p.m. to address residents' concerns and questions, and the recovery.lacounty.gov website will provide ongoing updates.
To date, recovery efforts have secured $86 million in total individual assistance from FEMA and $1.5 billion in SBA loans. More than 4,000 residents have visited disaster recovery centers, and over 25,000 survivors have been connected to county resources.
"These aren't just numbers," said Barger. "They represent real lives that have been impacted and real progress that is being made."
