 Working quickly to help Californians recover following wildfires that burned through Siskew County last year, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services completed a wildfire debris removal on affected residents' properties. To aid those in recovery from the mill, McKinney, and mountain fires, Cal OES coordinated with state and local partners to complete this mission in less than a year through inclement weather, rain, and snow, giving residents what they need to recover. Siskew County folks are pretty hearty. The community here at Lincoln Heights really are extremely grateful, probably more so than any other fire that I've been on. The state offered a no-cost to the homeowner program to remove charred remnants. In partnership with local officials and Cal Recycle, property owners can sign up for this two-step process, known as the state's Consolidated Debris Removal Program. The Consolidated Debris Removal Program, completed in June 2023, successfully cleared all 218 properties that applied for the program. Residents are left with properties that look like this. Ready to rebuild. Lincoln Heights is one of the oldest black communities west of the Mississippi. One of those residents, Chester Hopkins, was raised here and saw the work everyone did to help his community recover. They came in and did a real nice clean-up job for us. It's just a lot of memories that we have, you know? Are the kids going down, you know, trying to slid down the street? It's just, you know, when you've been here 65 years, it's just a lot of memories. Recovery in Siskew is widespread. 30 miles away from Lincoln Heights, the rural community of Klamath River is also recovering. The Klamath River Community Hall was a community linchpin. Most of the debris removal program, residents, some who lost their own homes, are well on their way to a full recovery. The debris removal program did help immensely because, you know, that spot where the hall was had a lot of old appliances and just, you know, the leftovers from the building that was helpful to get that removed, to get the soil sampled so that we're okay to build from here. The area is unique in every disaster, but Cal OES works closely with local officials to help get the community back on their feet. Cal OES has been exceptional. That initial phone call of, what do you guys need? How can we help taking the time to come up and really tour the area? They know our needs. They know our capabilities, and they can step in. Cal OES can step in and really help us achieve what needs to be done. Cal OES has streamlined its debris removal process through many wildfires to ensure each property has a clean bill of health in just months. In Siski, we use that same concept and model, and we're able to help speed up recovery for those impacted by these wildfires. The consolidated debris removal program is unique because it's actually pushing the envelope for public assistance and recovery, not only in the state of California but nationwide. It's almost been a year since the mill, McKinney, and mountain fires, and the transformation is remarkable. This is just home, you know, and if not, we always will have a home here, you know, for the family. To see more from us, visit news.caloes.ca.gov and follow us on all our social media platforms.