EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Travels to Los Angeles, California as EPA Expedites the Largest Wildfire Cleanup Effort in Agency History
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, February 6, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled to Los Angeles, California, to survey damage and meet with EPA personnel on the ground in the wake of the recent catastrophic wildfires. The agency is currently undertaking its largest wildfire cleanup in history.
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“Many Californians have lost their homes and livelihoods in the recent wildfires. They have faced an unspeakable tragedy. Our EPA staff is on the ground working quickly to get as many properties cleared of hazardous materials as rapidly and safely as possible. We have nearly 1,200 personnel in the field doing their part to aid the cleanup process. We will recover, and we will rebuild,” said Administrator Zeldin.
Administrator Zeldin started his morning at EPA Incident Command Center to discuss the latest updates in the wildfire response. He then toured Altadena and met with local community members and elected officials impacted by the Eaton Fire. Afterwards, he surveyed damage at another neighborhood in Pacific Palisades, impacted by the Palisades Fire. He was joined by Ambassador Ric Grenell and LA Mayor Karen Bass, Major General Jason E. Kelly, USACE, FEMA’s Regional Administrator Bob Fenton.
EPA Administrator visits LA fires (jpg)
Administrator Zeldin is now headed to Western North Carolina to visit communities rebuilding from Hurricane Helene.
Under its hazardous materials cleanup mission, the first stage in the overall recovery effort, EPA has completed reconnaissance at 7,822 properties. This includes 4,659 properties impacted by the Eaton Fire and 3,163 properties impacted by the Palisades Fire. EPA also has completed hazardous materials removal at 1,153 properties. The agency has successfully removed 274 electric vehicles and bulk energy storage systems, which are extremely dangerous to the public and the environment, and will continue ramping up such operations.
Currently there are 1,182 response personnel in the field, up from 478 at the end of last week. EPA has assembled 80 teams to clear hazardous materials from the more than 13,000 residential and 250 commercial fire-impacted properties. EPA has also convened a working group to coordinate with utilities, state, local and federal stakeholders to expedite cleanup operations and meet unmet needs in the sector. At the request of water utilities, EPA is also providing technical assistance to help bring systems back online.
EPA Administrator visits LA fires (jpeg)
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas. This directs EPA to complete its hazardous materials mission responding to the Los Angeles wildfires as soon as practical. EPA’s work removing hazardous materials is Phase 1 of the federal cleanup response. This work, conducted at no cost to residents, is a mandatory process to ensure the safety of residents and the workers who will — after the hazardous material is gone — conduct the Phase 2 debris removal in the burn footprints, and to prevent these materials from being released into the environment. Phase 2 will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as coordinated by FEMA. Once Phase 1 has been completed at a property, Phase 2 will begin automatically.
At the direction of President Trump, EPA is partnering with the U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security to develop and execute a plan to expedite the removal of contaminated and general debris.
EPA has secured temporary storage, or staging, locations for materials from each fire site. Removed hazardous waste materials are brought into these staging areas daily, processed into appropriate waste streams, and packaged and sealed for shipment and proper disposal.
This guidance has been previously shared with impacted communities.
The public can find more information about EPA’s hazardous material removal operations at EPA’s 2025 California Wildfires website. This website will be continuously updated as EPA's work moves forward.