STATE CONTRACTS FOR WORKER CAMPS RUN OUT
PARADISE >> Plans for the future of the housing sites set up for Camp Fire debris removal workers are hazy ahead of a Friday deadline.
The state of California helped fund two “worker camps” in Butte County to avoid making the housing shortage even worse as outof-town workers flooded the area. One is located south of Oroville off of Highway 70. The other is located along the Skyway at the former Tuscan Ridge Golf Course, where Pacific Gas & Electric, Corp. first housed its tree trimmers after the fire.
The worker camps were run by subcontractors. In their prime, they bustled with activity, providing housing in manufactured units, custom-built wastewater treatment plants, dining and parking for up to 3,000 people. They’ve been largely empty in recent weeks after the bulk of the debris removal operations ended. Jan. 31 marks the final date of the state’s contracts for the camps.
It’s not yet clear what happens next.
“The base camp operators have been directed to demobilize the camps, and the long-term prospects for those properties are now in the hands of the contractors and their subcontractors,” said Chris McSwain, a spokesperson for Cal Recycle,
in a statement.
It was the first time the state had ever agreed to help provide temporary worker housing as part of a wildfire clean-up project, he added.
Butte County’s Board of Supervisors asked for more information about next steps this week after a presentation by staff.
Casey Hatcher, Butte County deputy chief administrative officer, said the subcontractor at the Tuscan Ridge location, ATCO, had expressed interest in keeping the units at the location and renting them out to other workers coming into the area to help the rebuild.
That would likely require a new permit, she said. The county originally allowed temporary housing there only in support of the immediate recovery.
“There’s a lot of thoughts and ideas, and it’s mostly an independent matter between the private entities, but we have to make sure it’s compliant with urgency ordinance terms, so that they operate it safely,” Hatcher said.
In the long term, the Tuscan Ridge site is for sale for $60 million. The former golf course is zoned for residential development, and its owners had long floated proposals to develop housing there.
Jan. 31 also marks the end date for Cal Recycle’s main contracts for debris removal
“The base camp operators have been directed to demobilize the camps, and the long-term prospects for those properties are now in the hands of the contractors and their subcontractors.”
— Chris McSwain, spokesperson for Cal Recycle
with ECC Constructors LLC, SPSG Partners and Ceres Environmental Services Inc. But the agency has offered the companies extensions until March 31, according to Swain. The
goal of the extension is mostly to smooth the process; the bulk of the work has long been finished. As of a Jan. 27 update from the county, only three lots of more than 10,900 had yet to receive the final OK for rebuilding.