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County and Army Corps report progress on phase‑2 debris removal; rights‑of‑entry, tree markings and waiver options updated
Summary
Officials said almost 4,000 rights of entry have been submitted, crews have completed hundreds of parcels, and new tree marking conventions and waiver submission methods were announced.
County and federal officials reported steady progress on phase‑2 wildfire debris removal and described steps residents can take to speed work on private properties.
"We have work active work going on on 629 parcels that are in various stages of debris removal... We've completed a total of 242 parcels to date," Colonel Swenson of the US Army Corps of Engineers said, reporting operational activity across the impacted Eaton and Palisades areas. The Corps said it has received "just shy of 4,000" rights of entry from the county and that validated properties will receive a notification call three to five days before debris removal begins.
County staff reiterated a March 31 deadline for property owners to finalize whether they will participate in the government‑led debris removal program. "What I'm finding is that a number of people... have opted into this program... but haven't actually signed the final signature to it," Mark Pastrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said. He urged property owners who have not completed documentation to sign rights of entry so the county can accelerate turnover to the Army Corps; the county reported it had already submitted about 4,000 ROEs and expected to reach 5,000 by Thursday.
Officials described how deferred properties and hazardous‑tree decisions are being handled. Colonel Swenson said crews had cleared over 2,354 properties that had been deferred by the EPA for hazards such as structural instability or access issues. On tree assessments, the Corps described a new marking system: a blue dot plus a barcode indicates a tree determined to be hazardous and scheduled for removal; a yellow dot and yellow ribbon mark a tree for which an owner has submitted a hazardous tree removal waiver and the barcode will be removed; a brown dot above an existing blue dot indicates a tree reassessed as nonhazardous and retained.
The Corps also added methods for submitting hazardous‑tree waivers: Eaton area owners may mail completed forms to eatoncallcenter@ECC.net and Palisades area owners may use palisadescallcenter@ECC.net; waivers may also be submitted during the three‑ to‑sixty property walkthrough prior to debris removal. Swenson asked drivers to slow down near work zones, saying speeding past coned‑off areas is dangerous for crews.
County officials repeated that debris removal is intended to clear all impacted properties, either by government contract with the Army Corps or by property owners on their own. The county emphasized outreach via call centers and community resource centers for questions and updates.
