Homeowners of townhomes in wildfire zones face confusion with Army Corps' debris removal process
Homeowners of condos and townhomes that have "opted in" to be part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris removal process have been left in limbo.
They said there is confusion about them being included in the program, because if not, they don't know how to afford the work ahead that needs to be done for them to one day come back home.
"Our six units all had shared walls; they were three-story condos," said Mark Smith, who lived in a condo that burned in the Palisades Fire.
The U.S. EPA has completed Phase 1 of household hazardous waste removal, but now, Smith and the other condo owners have been stuck on how to tackle Phase 2 of the debris removal.
"We thought we were included in the program because there was a lot of miscommunication," Smith said.
Smith and his neighbors are still waiting to find out if they qualify for the Army Corps debris removal program provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which comes at no cost to the homeowners or their insurers.
"We are essentially on a technicality because we are deemed commercial. We are actually underfunded, underinsured, and this is going to be, well, it is going to be absolutely devastating to a lot of homeowners," Smith said.
Smith's homeowner association insurance was dropped last year, forcing the community to be insured by the California Fair Plan, leaving them with little help financially in this rebuild process.
"We anticipate it is going to be about $50,000 per unit," Smith said.
The homeowners are now relying on taxpayer-funded organizations, like FEMA, to pull through for them.
"Typically, the condo or association that manages the condo would be responsible for the debris removal," said Brandi Richard Thompson, the FEMA Region 9 Public Affairs Officer. "There are also some properties that are actually privately owned and are being run as businesses. FEMA doesn't typically provide assistance for people who have businesses."
Richard Thompson said conversations are ongoing about possibly including these types of multi-family units in the debris removal program.
"We just need to figure out in maybe certain scenarios, those rules can be, I'm not going to say waive, but those rules can be looked at a little bit differently," Richard Thompson said.
Richard Thompson is advising homeowners of condos and townhomes to submit their "Right of Entry" forms, so they are on file.
What happens next for homeowners, like Smith, is still up in the air. With bills adding up, a lack of information leaves him and others in the dark.
"I would like to see FEMA do the right thing," Smith said.
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