Los Angeles is preventing residents from going to their properties, much less starting the process of cleaning them up.
L.A. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis issued the no debris removal order.
His calling card includes promoting a “health equity framework within government agencies,” and the top value listed on his county health office website is “equity.”
The Jan. 15 order from Davis read in part, “No removal of fire debris resulting from the Critical Fire Area in Los Angeles County shall occur from properties without a hazardous materials inspection conducted either by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or California Department of Toxic Substances Control …” The order listed a few other government agencies that could also do the inspection.
The Health Officer issued an order prohibiting cleanup or removal of fire debris at fire damaged and burned properties located in Critical Fire Areas until a hazardous materials inspection is completed by an approved government agency.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/GrNIF6YTn4
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) January 16, 2025
According to Cal Fire, over 16,200 structures were destroyed, meaning homeowners could be waiting a good while before debris removal can begin.
This was the point that President Donald Trump was making to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other local officials during a meeting in Pacific Palisades on Friday.
🚨 BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass and Trump with a very tense exchange now… Bass is losing her cool over insistence from community members and Trump who say that clearly, people aren’t being allowed back on their property soon enough.
TRUMP: People are willing to clean up… pic.twitter.com/k2w9KcB88l
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 25, 2025
Do you think L.A. officials will eventually give in to Trump’s demands?
Having met earlier in the day with residents whose homes were destroyed, Trump noted, “People are willing to clean out their own debris.”
“Yes, and they can,” Bass interjected.
“People are willing to get a dumpster and do it themselves and clean it out,” the president continued. “There’s not that much left. It’s all incinerated.”
“Yes. And if individuals want to clear out their property, they can,” the mayor reiterated.
That statement prompted someone off-camera to remind her that people are not even able to go to their properties at the present, much less begin debris removal.
“You know that you will be able to go back soon,” Bass said.
Asked when, she answered, “We think within a week.”
“That’s a long time, a week” Trump offered. “I’ll be honest, to me everyone standing in front of their house, they want to go to work, and they’re not allowed to do it. But a week is a long time.”
Bass defended the timetable saying, “And the most important thing is for people to be safe.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that Col. Eric Swenson with the Army Corps of Engineers told Palisades residents last week that the debris removal process could take up to 18 months to complete. The Corps is overseeing debris removal in the fire zones.
“We want to get this place back into your hands clear of all the public health hazards, so that you can rebuild your life and your livelihood,” Swenson said.
“At the very least, he said, residents should wait until the Environmental Protection Agency completes the first phase of removing hazardous waste — a process that is likely to take a couple of months. Pestrella said the EPA will place a placard on every lot that it has cleared, certifying that the hazardous waste has been removed,” according to the Times.
So it looks like Bass was not being forthright when she said residents can begin removing debris from their property any time soon.
Based on Davis’ order and Swenson’s statement, it could be months.
It appears a classic case of Bass of saying one thing, but doing another.
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