Oregon Emergency Management Press Release (Nov. 24, 2020)
As EPA’s work winds down, some response crews remain to handle
final cleanups
As EPA pauses to retool its wildfire
household hazardous waste recovery operations for the Thanksgiving holiday,
agency officials are reflecting on the results achieved by cleanup teams over
the past 90 days in Oregon. After the holiday, EPA will continue reducing their
“footprint” in the state, with many crews already departing to return to their
normal schedules, teams and families.
Since mobilizing on September 24 by FEMA “Mission Assignment,” 17 EPA field
recovery teams, working 12-hour days, seven days a week, have retrieved and
removed household hazardous waste from over 2300 fire-ravaged parcels in eight
Oregon counties. In addition, EPA teams stabilized and consolidated ash and
debris from more than 230 parcels along Oregon waterways - including five miles
of the Bear Creek riparian area in Jackson County - protecting water quality
from toxic runoff. In all, EPA mobilized over 250 responders, both virtually
and in the field, from all over the country to support response operations.
According to EPA Incident Commander, Randy Nattis, the Agency has been proud
to help Oregon recover from the devastating fall wildfires, crediting local
support and guidance as critical to EPA’s success.
“Make no mistake, I couldn’t be prouder of our work and what our teams have
accomplished,” said EPA’s Nattis. “But we are standing on the shoulders of the
County Public Works directors, DEQ On-Scene Coordinators, FEMA disaster
officials, our support contractors and countless Oregon responders. Projects of
this size, scope and scale demand ultimate teamwork. And we couldn’t have asked
for better, more resilient partners than Oregonians.”
With Step 2 of the Oregon state-managed cleanup getting underway, Step 2
cleanup crews are expected to begin clearing properties throughout wildfire
impacted areas in mid-December, removing hazard trees, ash and debris. EPA’s
presence will remain at a more compact profile, with several smaller mobile
crews remaining to respond to any additional properties that still need
attention. EPA crews will also back up ODOT’s contractors as they start removing
heavy debris, cars and appliances and find hidden household hazardous waste,
cylinders, ammunition or other hazardous materials.
For more information about EPA’s Step 1 work, please visit our 2020
Fire Recovery Story Map . For more information about Oregon’s Step 2 work
please visit the 2020 Oregon
Wildfire Recovery website or call the Wildfire Debris Cleanup Hotline at
503-934-1700.
