Pasadena Unified, State Defend Tree Removals in Eaton Fire Soil Cleanup as Council Weighs Jurisdiction

The Pasadena Unified School District and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control in a joint statement Monday, June 15 affirmed their position that removing certain trees is the safest and most appropriate way to clean fire-contaminated soil tied to the Eaton Fire across the district’s campuses, even as tree advocates and several Pasadena city councilmembers questioned that day whether the district may cut the trees without city permits.

The competing positions center on the Eaton Fire recovery on Pasadena Unified campuses, where the district says it determined, after months of consultation with state regulators, that removing and replacing soil contaminated by the January 2025 fire — and the trees rooted in it — is the safest course, and that DTSC approved that plan, while opponents say alternatives could spare mature trees and that the district has sidestepped Pasadena’s tree-protection ordinance.

The dispute reached the City Council shortly after the joint statement was released.

The district and DTSC said the trees marked for removal are “only those located within the contaminated soil removal area” and that, with more than 5,000 trees districtwide, “we do not take the removal of any tree lightly.”

The agencies said PUSD spent the past year meeting with DTSC across the 11 affected sites, reviewing the types of toxins identified and performing site-by-site and test-by-test assessments of more than 600 tests, before determining that removing the selected trees was the safest and most appropriate way to complete remediation and reopen as quickly as possible.

DTSC, the agencies said, “approved the plan as a health protective way to proceed.”

The two agencies said that above all they are focused on the safety of the students, staff and community who gather beneath the trees, and that all work follows South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1466, including dust suppression to prevent offsite emissions, perimeter air monitoring, and the proper handling, containment and transport of impacted soil, along with compliance with California Environmental Protection Agency and DTSC guidelines.

DTSC said it will visit the work at appropriate times, and the environmental contractor and consultant must follow their own health and safety plans, the statement said.

Removing the contaminants from soil and trees, the agencies said, is the most effective way to protect students, staff and the surrounding community and to eliminate the immediate and long-term health risks the Eaton Fire left behind.

The district has said the work, scheduled for summer break, will remove an estimated 8,367 cubic yards of contaminated soil — roughly 613 truckloads — across the 11 sites, and that under the California Health and Safety Code, DTSC is required to direct removal once soil is identified as a health and safety risk.

PUSD has said trees rooted in the contaminated soil must be removed to allow safe excavation and that it is working with the city of Pasadena and West Coast Arborists Inc., a firm with more than 50 years of experience serving public agencies, on the tree work.

“We want to be abundantly clear: Safety is not negotiable,” Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco said when the district released its soil-test results, adding that the district was acting with urgency and care.

The removals drew sustained opposition at the June 15 council meeting, where speakers urged the council to halt the cutting of 193 trees across the 11 campuses

The district in March filed a state environmental notice classifying the soil work as a statutorily exempt emergency project, citing the January 2025 state of emergency, and listed the 11 properties.

The district has said it will replant, saying in the joint statement: “For every tree removed, PUSD is committed to replanting and restoring the shade, beauty, and gathering spaces our school communities depend on,” and that it is working with the city and certified arborists on restoration.

PUSD has directed residents to pusd.us/restoringourschools for site-specific timelines, and the city manager’s office jurisdiction review remains pending.