The Altadena Town Council held a minute of silence to open its Tuesday meeting. For the next three hours, council members and county officials answered questions and began to lay out next steps for a post-Eaton fire Altadena.

Tuesday’s virtual meeting was the first since the Eaton fire burned through the community, and a first glance for the hundreds who tuned in remotely to hear from leaders on what recovery will look like.

“The grief, the loss, the uncertainty, it is overwhelming,” Altadena Town Council Chair Victoria Knapp said. “But I want you to know, from the depths of my heart that we are in this together.”

Four Altadena Town Council members, including Knapp and Vice Chair Nic Arnzen, lost their homes in the fire.

Normally held at the Altadena Community Center, county officials including Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Public Works Director Mark Pestrella and Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis provided updates to the unincorporated community during a virtual meeting streamed on YouTube.

Pestrella said as part of the cleanup effort, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Eric Swenson will be leading the debris removal carried about by the corps. He said Swenson helped complete the cleanup of the 2023 Lahaina fire in Maui, Hawaii.

“I found him to be very impressive and a forthcoming individual,” Pestrella said. “He’s very excited to meet all of you.”

A slew of officials and experts presented the public with the latest updates on recovery and fielded dozens of questions from the public and town council members.

All speakers had a similar message: Nothing would be off the table as the shift from crisis management to the early stages of recovery takes shape.

Two weeks earlier, around the same time the meeting began, the Eaton fire started and began spreading. Since then it has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and killed at least 17 people.

The fire is 91 percent contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Assistant Fire Chief Pat Sprengel and Sheriff’s Captain Jabari Williams provided public safety updates and representatives from the California Highway Patrol, Altadena Chamber of Commerce, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross also spoke.

Williams said while the law enforcement checkpoints have been removed and only some soft closures remain, the Sheriff’s Department will continue to be on the ground protecting homes from looters. He said there are triple the normal number of personnel assigned to Altadena.

He said national guard resources remain on the ground and have been extended for an additional 10 days.

Cleanup

Before rebuilding, a two-phase cleanup process must take place. The first is underway, which involves FEMA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removing hazardous waste. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will lead the second and more large-scale effort of debris removal.

Officials said private property owners will have to opt in to allow the Corps to remove debris from their property. Those who opt in would be able to have the debris removed without a cost to them.

Pestrella said while the EPA phase is expected to move quickly, there will be a significant gap in time before the Corps of Engineers begins its debris-removal phase.

Where the debris will ultimately be taken remains a work in progress, Pestrella said. He said no matter the final destination, the debris will be sorted before being sent to landfills or recycling centers.

An immediate focus of the cleanup this week will be preparation for the possible rainfall in the forecast this weekend and protecting against mud and debris flow, members of the public works staff said.

Altadena office

Barger and others reiterated a focus on streamlining the building process and that potential ideas had already been prepared for the Board of Supervisors.

In addition, Pestrella said the goal is to have a standing county office located in Altadena in the next 30 to 60 days where residents can come for all their building and permitting needs.

“We want to change that narrative about going into a building department,” Pestrella said. “We want to be seen as a partner and not as an obstacle.”

He suggested that homeowners who want to rebuild should begin drawing up building plans to be ready once the county process is in place to help move those plans forward.

Officials fielded questions from residents who wrote them in the YouTube live comment section. They included health and safety questions, questions about Altadena trees and how property lines will be determined as rebuilding begins.

Knapp said she recently spoke to Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder and noted that six years on from the devastating Camp fire, Paradise had rebuilt 85 percent of the city after losing 95 percent of it in the fire.

“We will get there too,” Knapp said. “We are not alone in this and while we have a very long way to go there is light at the end of the tunnel. We will rebuild Altadena.”

For more information visit altadenatowncouncil.org and recoveryaltadena.com.