A New Clock Has Begun
Our security blanket is about to leave...
I was out for a walk this AM for the first time in the neighborhood. It is so different than the last time I went out. 100 days changes a lot.
Having time to think, I reflected on an article in the Los Angeles Times this AM, which confirmed what my lying eyes were telling me. The US Army Corps of Engineers is expecting to have debris removal completed by the end of June. I could tell anecdotally what the article confirmed. I would say at least 10% or more of properties in Altadena have been cleared thus far. The pace has been fast. Many friends are cleared or being cleared.
According to the Army Corps, about 130 crews are clearing properties in Altadena. If 6,000 properties were destroyed or badly affected by the fires, and it takes about 2 days to clear (as the article lays out), it would be about 93 days to clear out all those affected if the Army did each property, which would put the completion of debris removal about July 1, give or take.
Come July 1, Altadena will be ready to start moving ahead with the next stages of the fire and complete the federal government’s active participation in the post-disaster management. It will be for Los Angeles (County and City) to begin the next stages of their fire response (the City may be a little longer than Altadena, but not much more so). It is time for that leadership to show. The timeline also explains why I am hearing more pressure about finding a solution to the financing questions. Things are about to move fast.
It is getting real now folks. No more debris. People are going to be clambering for permits to begin construction. A lot of questions remain (infrastructure, utilities, materials requirements among others). People without means are going to be looking for answers. Decisions are coming. The summer was a rough timeline in my head (school decisions for families, et cetera) when things would reach a head. Standing up the leadership and plans will be necessary by then.
This morning the gauntlet was laid down folks. July 1 the federal government is physically leaving. The Army is done with the primary operation. They have done a herculean job to get us where we are.
It will be up to us to begin that next phase.