The Environmental Protection Agency has completed 99% of hazardous material removal from properties affected by January’s wildfires in record time, aligning with a 30-timeline to get the job done, the California Governor’s office announced on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
The agency cleaned up more than 9,000 properties across the Eaton and Palisades fire footprints, with roughly 100 remaining properties being difficult to access.
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“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of federal and state crews, the first phase of debris cleanup is coming to a close and we can turn our focus fully to structural debris removal,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, crews cleaned hazardous waste from thousands of properties in less than 30 days, a record pace never seen before at this scale.”
EPA teams worked with state Department of Toxic Substances Control personnel and the U.S. Department of Defense to remove hazardous materials, the first phase of wildfire cleanup, which will be followed by structural debris cleanup. Phase 2 of the cleanup will be done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at no cost, or private contractors homeowners may choose to hire. Phase 2 has also begun and has been running concurrently with Phase 1.
“We’re working hand-in-hand with President Trump and his administration to clear debris as fast as possible to get Angelenos back to their properties to start rebuilding,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
EPA workers dress in safety gear prior preparing household hazardous waste material for sorting before the waste is taken for dumping at the Lario Staging Area in Irwindale on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
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EPA teams assessed more than 13,000 properties, removed hazardous materials from over 9,000 and deferred over 4,000 properties to Phase 2 for safety reasons, according to the governor’s office. Deferments are made when a property is too dangerous for EPA officials to access due to collapsed ceilings, trees or other unstable debris that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is better equipped to handle.
“Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, crews cleaned hazardous waste from thousands of properties in less than 30 days, a record pace never seen before at this scale,” Newsom said in a statement.
The cleanup is the fastest hazardous debris removal effort in the country. Crews worked under a 30 day timeline after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 24 directing the EPA to complete the work by Feb. 25.
But it came at the cost of raising the ire of many in surrounding areas, where materials collection sites prompted neighborhood concerns over truck congestion and damage to the local environment.
EPA teams from all ten regions of the agency were deployed to Southern California to assist with the cleanup, which was the largest cleanup the EPA has been involved in in the United States, according to Tara Fitzgerald, incident commander with the EPA. Over 100 teams, comprised of over 1,600 personnel worked on the cleanup. Some personnel will remain on the cleanup to help the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers if more household hazardous waste is discovered during the Corps’ debris cleanup.
Staff reporter Anissa Rivera contributed to this report.
