Challenge halts work in fire zone

Complaint by unsuccessful bidder stymies lot cleanup

The clearing of scorched lots in four counties hit by the Wine Country wildfires has ground to a halt because of challenges filed against two contractors, leaving residents wondering when they’ll be able to move forward with rebuilding.

Officials had hoped to have the destroyed lots — more than 8,000 of them in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties — cleared by the end of February. But the charred chimneys, husks of former houses, and piles of rubble left behind by the wildfires could take much longer to clear because of protests by a Florida company that bid unsuccessfully for the clearing contracts.

The complaints, filed with the Government Accountability Office by AshBritt Inc., question

whether two companies that won the federal contracts will be able to meet their deadlines. The companies are ECC International Constructors of Burlingame, which secured a $174 million deal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear lots in Sonoma County, and Ceres Environmental Services in Minnesota, which was awarded a $26 million contract for work in the other three counties.

The work was expected to be done by the beginning of March, but that’s not likely to happen. Ironically, the challenges themselves have created delays, as cleanup crews pull out of destroyed neighborhoods.

“Process is getting in the way of progress,” said Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chairman James Gore. “This is not just an issue of trying to clean up some garbage. These are people’s homes and sacred sites. It’s disheartening when you have government contracting rules getting in the way of people moving on with their lives.”

About 43 percent of the lots across the four counties have been cleared. That leaves homeowners like Allison Spitzer in limbo. With the remains of her home in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood still not swept away, she and her husband are living in a rental with their two children, ages 7 years and 21 months.

“They made a promise early, the county and the city, saying they would get it done as quickly as possible,” Spitzer said. “Now they’re caught up in politicking. It’s ironic. At the end of a street, there’s a house going up. I just want the visual scar of what happened to go away.”

Jeff Okrepkie, whose Coffey Park property also awaits clearing, said, “If you are the one with the ruined lot left, it’s like being picked last in gym class. ‘Why me? Why am I the one being affected by this?’ It’s been emotionally brutal.”

Officials for the Army Corps of Engineers said they didn’t know when the dispute would be resolved.

“We realize how urgent this is,” said Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the agency. “We are working and doing everything within our power to resolve these protests. We remain committed to this mission.”

In the complaint, AshBritt questions whether the contractors can meet their deadlines, and asks that the Government Accountability Office order the deals to be rebid if it concludes they can’t. AshBritt officials did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

ECC International Constructors was set to begin the bulk of its work in Sonoma County on Friday. The delay is “frustrating for everyone,” said company Vice President August Ochabauer. “We really were working diligently to gear up and get out there. We were hoping to have it resolved quickly, but that might not happen.”