CLEARLAKE >> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started work to debris at fire-damaged properties in Lake and Mendocino counties, identifying 32 properties in the Sulphur Fire area contaminated by asbestos.
According to Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski, most of the lots are based at the mobile home park in the Goose Neck area.
“These properties have been identified as having enough asbestos-containing materials that it needs a special team to remove that before the heavy equipment goes in,” Ruminski added.
County officials see both ease and hurdles in the process. The Posi-Shell that was sprayed to help prevent materials from spreading into the lake earlier in the cleanup process should help prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne. On the other hand, it will create a greater volume of asbestos waste.
The shell should protect the community from breathing in any asbestos while removal occurs.
City Manager Greg Folsom said that currently the EPA is in the area handling remediation. The agency is anticipated to continue the process until mid-December.
Those involved in the clean up will be out in suits that will protect them from asbestos and be removing materials so the next phase of the debris cleanup process can occur.
According to EPA spokeswoman Margot Perez-Sullivan, asbestos removal can take anywhere from several hours to a few days depending on the size of the property.
The deadline for Right of Entry permits passed toward the end of November. Ruminski said there are eight registered properties for cleanup using a private contractor and 17 properties on an abatement candidate list. Six of these are in county jurisdiction and 11 are in the city of Clearlake. These 17 lots will need to register with a private contractor if they want to avoid any fees from Code Enforcement and get off the abatement candidate list.
“I don’t have the exact amount on the properties that have been cleared, but there are 134 total registered on the Rights of Entry Permit and several of those have been completed,” Ruminski said.
There are 11 crews working on the properties Ruminski added and they average about three working days per lot depending on where the property is located.
“Some of the hillside lots that were built on a terrace take a little longer,” Ruminski said.
District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith, who did have his home burn down in the Sulphur Fire, said his property was cleaned up fairly early and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did a great job.
“I know I can say, from a personal experience this time, these guys did a fantastic job. My lot is totally cleaned up now,” Smith said. “They just finished that up two days ago.”
He added that at first it seemed like a slow start but now they are going through properties quickly and getting the area cleaned up and removing any hazards.
