CLEARLAKE >> The City of Clearlake hosted the second Sulphur Fire Community Recovery Meeting on Thursday afternoon to provide the public with the latest information. Most importantly, officials stressed the importance of having fire victims submit their Right-of-Entry (ROE) forms to help speed up recovery efforts.
Representatives from the city, local law enforcement, FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other state departments were present. Among them was Cal OES Regional Administrator Jodi Traversaro who reiterated the need for ROE forms.
“First and foremost is the collection of the Right-of-Entry forms,” she said. “We want to make sure these are submitted neighborhood by neighborhood because the sooner they’re submitted the sooner we can get in and work.”
An ROE form grants the County of Lake and all its contractors to enter a property for the purpose of “inspecting, testing materials on, removing and clearing any or all wildfire-generated debris of whatever nature…” Items such as batteries, electronics, paint, and vehicles are included. The public can attain the forms at the Local Assistance Center, located at the Clearlake Community Center (Senior Center) or at wildfirerecovery.org.
Also on Thursday, federal and state subject matter experts discussed the Consolidated Debris Removal Program as established by Governor Brown. The program is said to be conducted in two phases.
Traversaro and FEMA representative Lance Harbour broke down the two-part procedure. In phase one, which started on Monday, includes local, state, tribal, and federal agencies working together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to remove household hazardous waste. This process, however, cannot take place until an ROE form has been submitted by the property owner.
By November 1, phase two is expected to kick off. Once there, FEMA and Cal OES will partner up with the Army Corps of Engineers and CalRecycle to free properties from other fire-related debris. The removal is scheduled to run until winter.
Local hires are one key aspect of this phase, Traversaro added.
“You can imagine the entire workforce needed for clean up in this entire region,” he said.
As of Thursday afternoon, 40 ROE forms from Lake County residents have been submitted and experts hope more will be submitted. There is no deadline to submit the forms, for now. Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski said once crews arrive and are ready to work, a deadline will be established. He added, “if people walk away and do nothing we will have to do a nuisance abatement.”
The goal is to check off Lake County from the clean-up process in order to relocate resources to other affected areas in the region.
When asked about an estimated end date for clean-up efforts, Traversaro said around January of 2018 for the entire region. She estimates Lake County to be finished quicker than next year.
Officials also addressed that homeowners who want to search their properties for potential salvageable items “will not jeopardize their federal disaster assistance claim.” But, FEMA and Cal OES suggest that those that do should protect themselves by wearing gloves, N-95-rated masks, long-sleeved shirts and pants, and eye protection.
Other points covered at the meeting involved the encouragement to register for free assistance with FEMA by visiting the LAC, calling 800-621-3362 or visiting disasterassistance.gov.
One member of the public was concerned about an area, on Gooseneck Point, that has been opening up with previous rainfall, pulling a lot of rock and gravel. Clearlake Public Works Director Doug Herren addressed his concern, saying he has tracked the area and is working with FEMA to come up with a plan to fix the issue before the rainy season.
Many people have asked questions about their insurances in regards to property and housing coverage. To help review legal documents, insurance advocates are available to discuss matters one-on-one at the LAC.
As recovery attempts move forward, Traversaro said, “We want to simplify this procedure and help reduce a headache because these are complicated tasks. But it’s a unified effort with a variety of agencies and departments across multi-counties.”
After the meeting, the City of Clearlake recognized Sulphur Fire first-responders by providing Certificate of Recognition. Among those that received their certificate was Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin, Fire Chief Willy Sapeta, and Clearlake Acting Chief of Police Tim Celli.
