SHOULD I WAIT TO DO MY FIRE CLEANUP?

Fire debris cleanup is a heart-wrenching process. If you’re in a hurry and just want to get the process over with, we get it! Many will go this route.  However, if insurance coverage or money is an issue, then you could benefit by ‘opting-in’ to the federal cleanup program where all testing, removal, disposal and reporting is completed under the state program either at no charge to you (if you don’t have fire insurance) or for whatever coverage your insurance policy has for debris removal (i.e. the state will bill your insurance directly but will not collect amounts beyond your coverage limits).  

If you are ready to move forward with debris removal cleanup and you lost your home in the Dixie, McFarland, Monument, Fawn or Beckwourth fires then you’ll have an option for participating in the state/federal run program or opting-out and handling the waste yourself.  A landfill waiver was issued for landfills to accept waste from those fires without performing waste profiling first.  Identifying the presence or absence of asbestos in the fire debris is still required however.  The opt-in/opt-out process typically becomes a heavily debated topic in a local community; we’ve written a guide for property owners affected by previous fires and you can review that guide. 

 

WHERE DO I TAKE MY FIRE DEBRIS WASTE?

Where should I take my fire debris waste? That’s the question many homeowners and building owners have been asking lately.  Despite all the chaos and destruction the fires are causing throughout the State of California, we’re actually fairly ‘early’ in the cleanup process for most fires.  If you’re already at a point where you’re ready to clean up your property and are trying to figure out where to take the debris, then you’ve probably found out that’s not a simple question. We’ll give you the short answer first, then explain the long answer, then which could be best for you.

The short answer is you that need to determine where the closest landfill is located, then you need to contact that landfill to see what the waste profiling requirements are for that landfill.  Each landfill has their own unique process for profiling waste, and while there are some standards across the state for what’s classified as “hazardous waste” there is some wiggle room landfills have to accept fire debris from natural disasters. The fastest way your waste gets profiled is to find a consulting outfit that’s experienced and knowledgeable about the process; that outfit will need to survey the fire debris on your property and sample any materials that may contain asbestos. 

During the same site visit, they’ll also collect a sample of the waste stream – most frequently this is a composite sample of a cross section of your waste stream (i.e. you’re attempting to get a sample that’s is representative of all the fire debris from your property).  That waste stream sample is sent to a CA-certified laboratory for analysis of whatever your local landfill requires for waste profiling (typically at minimum, this includes metals, PCBs, and pH). Once you get the results back, you’ll prepare a waste profile report and submit that report to the landfill for a decision on whether their facility can accept your waste.

We’ve prepared a guide for previous fires that can be reviewed here on making this decision.