Porterville Recorder

Permit process for reconstruc­tion 100 percent

All county properties affected by Castle Fire can enter process

- Recorder@portervill­erecorder.com

All Tulare County property owners affected by the 2020 Castle Fire who participat­ed in the state's debris removal program how now completed the process and can now seek permits from the county for reconstruc­tion.

Twenty-two of 25 counties with property owners affected by 2020 wildfires have reached 100 percent in the debris removal process. On three counties, Trinity, Butte and Del Norte haven't completed the process. In all 95.1 percent of properties have completed the process.

Administer­ed by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (Calrecycle), the State's Consolidat­ed Debris Removal Program worked to remove eligible firerelate­d debris, including burned metal, concrete, contaminat­ed soil and ash from burned properties at no cost to the property owners.

So far, 4,246, or 95.1 percent, of the 4,466 properties enrolled in either the full debris removal program or hazardous trees removal program have completed the process. The return of the properties to county officials clears the way for owners to begin the permitting process for reconstruc­tion.

In October, the state reached a huge milestone in clearing wildfire debris from the 2020 wildfires as 100 percent of properties were cleared of debris. State crews finished clearing more than 1.25 million tons — or more than 2.5 billion pounds — of ash, debris, metal, concrete, and contaminat­ed soil from the nearly 4,000 properties that took part in California's Consolidat­ed Debris Removal Program. That's equivalent to nearly 42,000 fire engines.

Those properties not yet returned to officials in their respective counties still need soil testing, erosion control, or hazard tree removal to ensure the parcels are safe for rebuilding.

To view the data, visit the 2020 Debris Operations Dashboard at the following link: https:// experience.arcgis.com/ experience/b9096c9f10­6 e4b9093761­8e49235d9c­5/

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