City Council Votes to Join FEMA Disaster Mitigation Fire-Debris Removal Program

The Pasadena City Council met in an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

According to the Brown Act, the City can hold an emergency meeting if one hour’s notice is provided.

The City Manager received a call last night from county partners which made them aware of a federal program for fire debris removal.

“We need to make a decision to opt in by early afternoon,” said City Manager Miguel Márquez at the start of the meeting.

The program involves two phases.

Phase 1 is mandatory. In that phase, FEMA will remove hazardous waste, including paint and propane.

Teams will also go through debris and remove items.

Local residents in Altadena and Pasadena red-tagged qualify because the City is part of the Eaton Fire event.

According to an update received at Wednesday’s meeting it took FEMA about four months to complete that phase on 16,000 homes in another City.

In Phase 2, the red tagged sites are cleared of debris. The next part of the program could be run by the state or federal government.

There are 142 red tagged primary structures in Pasadena.

Homeowners must opt in to the program and grant right of entry for inspection, signage, assessment and debris removal.

The homeowner must be notified at the end of the process so they can begin the rebuild permitting phase.

The program is free. After 180 days, the City would pay $10,000 per property in the program. The homeowner will absorb no cost.

The program is voluntary, and homeowners retain the right to clean up their own property without entering the program.

LA county has opted into the program.