EPA and LA County Sign Lease for New Staging Area in Altadena
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the County of Los Angeles have signed a lease agreement effective February 7, 2025, for a new staging area at the Charles S. Farnsworth Park in Altadena, Calif. The agency is currently undergoing the largest wildfire hazardous waste cleanup in its history as it assists local governments and residents in the wake of catastrophic fires in Los Angeles County.
EPA’s work is part of an all-of-government response to the Los Angeles wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assigned EPA to assess, remove, and safely dispose of hazardous materials from all burned areas. To do this, EPA establishes temporary staging areas where hazardous materials collected from the fire burn footprints are consolidated and repackaged in a controlled environment for safe transportation to final disposal facilities.
Without a staging area, EPA would not be able to continue collecting hazardous materials, which is the necessary first step for the fire-impacted residents of the Eaton fire area to begin recovery from the devastating fire. Securing additional staging areas is critical for EPA to meet its accelerated timeline for finishing Phase 1 household hazardous waste removal operations.
"EPA is committed to safely removing hazardous materials from Eaton Fire-impacted properties,” said Tara Fitzgerald, EPA Pacific Southwest Incident Commander for EPA’s Emergency Response to the Los Angeles Wildfires. “A new staging area in Altadena will allow EPA to accelerate our cleanup operations, and help residents continue moving through the recovery process.”
EPA implements significant safety and mitigation measures to ensure the public and the environment are not negatively impacted by the temporary staging areas. EPA is installing fencing to prevent any unauthorized entry and will establish a minimum buffer zone that surrounds the staging area. The staging area does not include the Historic District, Davies Building, or the oak trees in Farnsworth Park.
Additional mitigation measures across all staging areas include:
- Pre-sampling of the area to establish current conditions.
- Lining processing areas with plastic and installing protective measures such as wattles, booms, earthen berms and gravel.
- Continuous perimeter air monitoring.
- Spraying water three times daily to control dust from vehicle traffic.
- Transporting all materials safely from the burn area to the staging area following Department of Transportation standards.
- Packaging and removing waste from the site nearly daily, without ground contact
When Phase 1 is complete, EPA will test the area again to confirm no negative impact to the environment.
To see photos showing EPA crews building the staging area pads and protective measures taken at staging areas, please go to our staging area photo tour on the StoryMap.
The public can find more information about EPA’s hazardous material removal operations at epa.gov/california-wildfires. This website will be continuously updated as EPA's work moves forward.
View EPA’s Story Map for the 2025 California Wildfire Response.
Visit the official Los Angeles County website for recovery efforts.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and on X.