Pasadena’s Wildfire Debris Removal Moving Along

In an update posted on Thursday, City officials said that all eligible Pasadena property owners whose property was impacted by the Eaton Fire submitted their required Right of Entry (“ROE”) or Opt-Out forms before the April 15 deadline.

“The department is excited to report that 125 ROE forms were received and approved for eligible properties, and of those, 82 properties have already been cleared of debris,” according to Jennifer Paige, Director of Planning and Community Development.

Four dedicated United States Army Corps of Engineers crews are presently working in Pasadena, typically completing each site in just one to two days.

Fourteen properties either opted out or were not eligible for the government-sponsored debris removal program.

Those property owners have until June 30, 2025, to complete their own debris removal in accordance with City guidelines.

“Thanks to the resilience of our residents and cooperation with government partners, Pasadena continues to move forward in the aftermath of the Eaton Wildfire,” said City Manager Miguel Márquez as part of the update.

Immediately after the fire, Pasadena’s Building & Safety and Code Compliance teams conducted a city-wide damage assessment.

The first phase of the recovery was conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The United States Environmental Protection Agency completed the first phase of recovery by safely removing hazardous household materials from residential and commercial properties affected by the fire. The work was completed by the end of February, less than two months after the fire began.

All properties were red- or yellow-tagged based on the level of damage, and a Geographic Information System map was created to keep the public informed.

The interactive tool provides up-to-date status reports, including debris removal progress, and connects property owners with city staff for support.

So far, the map, located at www.cityofpasadena.net/debrisremoval, has been accessed more than 81,000 times. The webpage and map are regularly updated with new information.