EPA incident commander describes process of removing hazardous materials from Palisades Fire zone​on February 7, 2025 at 2:27 am

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. (KABC) — Despite this week’s rainfall in Southern California, recovery efforts continued Thursday in the Palisades and Eaton Fire burn zone — but a plan to remove tons of hazardous waste from the area is being criticized.

The Environmental Protection Agency will soon transform the parking lot at Will Rogers State Beach into a temporary storage area for some of the hazmat debris. But, as with other similar sites, some elected officials and residents have expressed alarm.

Steve Calanog, an EPA deputy incident commander, described the meticulous process of collecting and transporting the variety materials.

“We are removing chemical containers, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, solvents, chemical containers, propane, compressed gas cylinders,” Calanog said.

The EPA has deployed about 1,200 people in the Palisades and Eaton fire zones, where they are extracting the hazardous waste before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removes the remaining debris and ash.

The EPA is now clearing toxic ash from the Eaton fire, so homeowners can begin the process of debris removal and rebuilding. But there’s already a snag, as cities push back against where that waste is being stored.

But some officials, including Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park, are concerned about the plan to temporarily store the waste along the coastline.

“This obviously poses major concerns about potential impacts on our coastal environment,” Park said. She instead recommended the use of sites that are already located within the contaminated area — rather than moving the hazardous materials out to the beach.

But the EPA insists that adequate protective measures are in place.

“We are the EPA after all, and we are bringing in certified, trained, experienced hazmat techs,” Calanog said. “We are the pros of handling hazardous materials.”

Calanog said the materials will not leave the burn zone until they are securely stored in containers.

“Everything is containerized. From the time we pick it up, it’s placed in a container on our stake bed trucks — each team has a stake bed truck,” he said.

Then it comes to a staging area, where it is consolidated in bulk in larger containers, then placed on semitrucks and shipped off to permanent facilities. The site at Will Rogers State Beach was approved by Los Angeles County, with a motion introduced by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath aimed at protecting county beaches from any pollution generated by the debris.