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Most of the homes surrounding the Altadena Golf Course are still standing. However, residents wonder if concrete recycling operations will take over the space and will be safe to return.
After Eton’s fire tore Altadena, the town’s 115-year-old golf course saw a widely shared belief that it protected most of the homes around it as the flames could not cross open space. Many residents thought themselves lucky. Their home had to clean up the smoke and ashes before they returned, but their neighbours were still standing.
The instantaneous relief quickly gave way to a new horror when it announced that space, which is likely to help the county save their homes, would be a dumping ground for the US Army’s concrete crushing and recycling operations and headquarters. Residents are said to have safe work. However, they saw no evidence to support that claim, and wondered whether pushing for a quick cleanup could pose new dangers.
“We need to go home to become a family again. We’re really looking forward to it and without this golf course we’ll go home,” said 46-year-old Teetlyn Follette.
Follett lives on Hill Avenue, within 50 feet of the boundary of the Altadena Golf Course and within 300 yards of the cleanup work. Her family, like many others, remained evacuated, but planned to return as soon as the house was cleaned.
The other residents sounding the alarm with her were clear. They do not believe that work should not be offloaded to areas that could affect the harvest of new residents. Also, I don’t want Altadena’s cleanup to be slower in response to calls to continue growing even when rebuilt and come back. However, in a warning from the Los Angeles County Public Health, residents questioned their decision to maintain a safe distance from the burn zone and toxins remaining in the soil, causing them to question the decision to deal with burned materials in the middle of a neighbourhood that is not in the fire.
They repeatedly asked for assurances and evidence that they would not face new long-term health risks when they returned and raised concerns about noise pollution and truck traffic.
Tiplin Follette and her son Sterling meet with Altadena residents to oppose concrete recycling operations planned at the Altadena Golf Course.
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
Public golf courses date back to the early 1900s. It belongs to Los Angeles County and was leased to the Army. The Army will use 12 acres on March 31 to process and recycle clean concrete, metal and plant materials from fire-affected facilities. The recycling operation is expected to take about 10 months, and the materials are expected to be kept out of landfills, according to the Army.
The EPA is already disposing of household hazardous materials there. The work will continue on a small scale. Similar work will end at Lario Park in Duarte and Farnsworth Park in Altadena, and is not used by the Army, the agency said.
Colonel Sony Avichal, commander of the Army Field Operations for Cleanup, recently told residents that three aviation surveillance systems were on the scene and that crews would have personal aviation monitors.
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“We are doing everything in our power to ensure that this operation is carried out safely for the public,” he said at a town council meeting.
Operations are conducted seven days a week from 7am to 7pm
Materials containing ash, contaminated soil and asbestos are prohibited from the area, the agency said, and air quality data will be provided to public health agencies with a “day delay.” Water truck and fog systems are used to reduce dust, and equipment is fitted with noise reduction mufflers.
George Gund is not sure the effort is enough to contain the toxins.
“Ironically, this is the notion that dust is alleviated and migrated and not dispersed,” said Gund, 52, as western winds picked up. “The wind events are a type of what caused this disaster in the first place.”
Gund has lived in the area for much of his life and believes that while debris cleanup is occurring, it is likely that another wind event will occur. He lives on Sonoma Drive, an old house in his grandparents, where he and his wife are married on a back porch and raising children. Gund can see the Altadena Golf Course from his front vestibule. He doesn’t know what to do if his home is cleaned up for his return home. Insurance won’t cover him and stay for a long time – but he’s worried that he’ll be safe when he returns.
His neighbor, John Newell, 65, shares feelings.
“If there’s no information, I’m going to assume it’s bad,” Newell said.
LA County residents also opposed the county’s planned landfill destination. For example, last month dozens of people gathered outside the Calabasas landfill in Agoura Hills to protest plans to throw out thousands of tons of debris every day, asking local leaders to redirect county, state and federal officials to redirect waste to areas with a lower population outside of state.
Equipment will be performed at the Altadena Golf Course in preparation for debris removal.
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
Residents are having problems with the surgical video and maps, believing they have not captured the fact that the home is still standing in this particular neighborhood. The Army said the operation would be “good and followed safety measures,” but did not provide data on the safety debate when the Times asked.
On Sunday, dozens of residents gathered at the main entrance of the golf course to protest its fate and seek answers.
A child’s signature read, “I want to play outside without wearing a mask.”
“Our home is toxic. Where is public health?” Another sign reads.
Zoe Gibson, 16, said the displacement was difficult. Her family lives south of the golf course at the Morada location and stayed in a whirlwind. No matter how much she tries to evacuate and organize, she says life is chaotic.
Her father, Grant Gibson, said his family would not return to the area until work is over.
“Our ability to return depends on what they’re doing here,” said Gibson, 50. “There are a lot of options, but they went to something fast and easy that would do this in the middle of the residential neighborhood and hoped it wouldn’t be an issue.”
Not everyone has problems with their plans. Jill Hawkins has lived in Altadena for nearly 30 years. She crossed the street from the golf course and returned to her home on Mendocino Avenue after the backyard had set fire to it. She supports the proof of her neighbor, but she believes that the area needs to be cleaned and that there is no alternative solution.
“We look forward to this community being rebuilt, and the best way to do that is to clean up these lots,” said Hawkins, 70. “If I wasn’t here, where would I have done it?”
On a recent afternoon, Follett looked into the golf course from outside the chain link fence across from his home. She previously took a tour of the area to see where the cleanup occurs. Construction trucks were parked inside and flags were planted in the ground to establish parameters for the work. Her one-year-old granddaughter slept in her arms. How does the plan affect children? Follett wondered.
“No one has heard,” she said of her plea for information. “It’s tired of being a squealing wheel.”
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