Moorpark Acorn
By David Goldstein
2/7/25
After the fire comes the cleanup, and Bakersfield-based Remedial Transportation Services—RTS—has begun work under a contract with the County of Ventura to remove debris from homes burned in last month’s Mountain fire.
The company’s workers are looking for telltale green painted-letter identification on burned-out autos that alerts them whether the vehicles have been processed by county staff and removed from Department of Motor Vehicles records. The DMV outreach prevents the car’s VIN from being reused for fraud.
“Also, get a junk receipt from the DMV to stop all fees,” advises Jim Mier, general manager of VenTERRA Environmental, an Oxnard-based contractor doing fire cleanup and demolition on a private basis, separate from the county-sponsored program.
Steel, including auto hulks, is one of the two material types typically recycled by Mier and other contractors clearing the burned properties. Other steel recycled from sites may include structural steel, gutters, vents, corner trim, corner posts, garage tools and appliances.
Concrete is another major waste recycled from burn sites.
“We remove foundations and three to six inches of soil to clear a site,” Mier said.
The waste is tested before either landfilling or recycling, and asbestos requires additional handling precautions.
“We suit up in Tyvek, put on respirators during the entire cleanup, and separate asbestos tile or other material from clean concrete so we can still recycle the concrete.”
VenTERRA hauls any asbestos-contaminated waste to a distant site in Arizona.
Recycling does require additional labor. Contractors typically hose down concrete debris to avoid dust while sifting it in the bucket of an excavator. They also spray water on the steel as they scrape off dirt, said Ventura County Environmental Health Division Manager Sean Debley, whose agency is coordinating the county sponsored cleanup.
The cleanup program funded by the county and carried out by RTS is crucial for homeowners who do not have sufficient insurance to pay for clearing their site prior to applying for a new building permit. The county covers costs not included in policy coverage.
According to Daniel Shoemaker, owner of Shoemaker Demolition, another contractor performing demolitions separate from the county program, there are some advantages to using private contractors.
“With a private contractor, you have more control over the pace and scope of a project,” Shoemaker said.
The contractor can remove additional material on site, such as septic systems and pools.
Mier pointed out another benefit of private contractors: If compliant with regulations, the contractor can sometimes follow a homeowner’s direction to remove less than a full-site contract the county would require.
“If it is not in the debris fallout area, I can often save a patio or a driveway. Saving at least part of the driveway is useful to make it easier to do the construction that follows cleanup,” Mier said.
When hiring a private demolition contractor, either for fire cleanup or on a regular basis, homeowners can save money and resources by checking to see what structures can be saved and what recycling is possible.
Partial fire burns are treated the same as regular demolition projects. For those, the county’s public works department requires a recycling plan prior to demolition and, after completion, checks receipts to ensure proper disposal and recycling.
David Goldstein, Environmental Resource Analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, may be reached at (805) 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
https://www.toacorn.com/articles/how-the-fire-clean-up-process-works/
