EARLY CAREER PROFESSIONAL VIEWPOINT
California Wildfire Disaster Relief
Taylor Murray, ECP-0407
tmurray@geo-logic.com
California’s 2020 Wildfire Season was particularly destructive, with nearly 10,000 incidents burning more than 4,250,000 acres, damaging or destroying more than 10,000 structures, and sadly causing 33 fatalities.
Fire disasters create a significant amount of debris, including ash, metal, concrete, building materials, hazard- ous materials, and contaminated soils. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) tasked California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle) to oversee the removal and proper disposal of ash and debris to reduce threats to public health and safety, protect the environment, and help communities recover and rebuild. Four operational branches were developed to respond to the regional diversity of communities impacted by the wildfires.
Geo-Logic Associates (GLA) is part of a team formed to oversee debris removal operations in six counties in northern California, including Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo coun- ties. Project roles for each team member vary; GLA’s specific duties include:
• Collect and analyze represen- tative soil samples from each geologic unit to establish back- ground concentrations of heavy metals. These background con- centrations were evaluated with the specific health risks for each metal to establish cleanup goals for the project.
• Perform site assessments to map debris fields, identify hazards, and document existing condi- tions.
• Following debris removal, col- lect soil samples and test for contaminants remaining beneath the debris footprint. Analytical results are compared to cleanup goals for the specific geologic unit on which the property is located. If concentrations exceed
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cleanup goals, GLA works with CalRecycle to dispatch the debris removal team to the site, and additional soils are removed. The process is repeated until all cleanup goals are met.
• When heavy metals concentra- tions are less than or equal to cleanup goals, GLA oversees placement of stormwater best management practices to control sediment runoff from the remedi- ated property.
The project commenced in November 2020 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021. The project size and complexity has required resources from nearly every GLA office, and the associated networking has helped devel- op interpersonal relationships amongst GLA team members that normally would not occur. The sense of teamwork and support on this project has brought our staff closer together for the common goal of clearing sites of fire debris and contamination allowing homeowners to get back to their properties to rebuild.
On individual job sites, resources from several companies (including State and County agencies, arborists, biologists, archeologists, environmental special- ists, asbestos assessors, and debris removal crews) join forces to remove debris and assist property owners return to a normal life. The entire project team is a guest of the community, and we commonly reinforce amongst ourselves to respect the fact many people lost their homes and most treasured possessions with little time to escape. Although the homeowners have experienced tragedy in the last year, many still greet us with a smile and gratitude for our work. The conversations I’ve held with homeown- ers regarding their experiences, includ- ing narrowly escaping the flames and their memories lost, has made me incred- ibly connected and passionate about our work.
All project personnel are required to maintain respect to the community and the environment, including concerns for waterways, creeks, trees, wildlife,
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