California wildfire survivors have until January 15 to sign up for debris removal. If your home was damaged in the fires or if there are fire damaged trees on your property that may fall on public roadways, government assistance is available.
“Our partners with the state and federal and local level totally take it to heart that these are people’s homes," says Chris McSwain with CalRecycle. "These are their lives that are affected, and we want to do everything we can to get their lives as close to normal again.”
The debris removal program is totally free to homeowners.
Before removal can start, property owners need to sign a Right-of-Entry form on their county website that allows cleanup crews access to their property.
Because resources are prioritized to counties who have more completed applications, it’s important to fill out the right-of-entry forms as soon as possible.
“This program is designed to look at every element of recovery in terms of debris. For my property to recover, it’s gonna help for my neighbors property to be cleaned up, too," says McSwain. "This really is a community issue.”
