 The Car Fire in Shasta County has been one of the most devastating wildfires in California history. The fire has already burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed over a thousand homes. And while firefighters continue to battle the flames and make progress, for those that lost their homes in this fire, recovery efforts are underway. This week, hazardous waste removal has begun in many areas where homes have been destroyed. Hazardous waste experts wearing white protective suits are now examining what remains on those lots where homes once stood. Those crews, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, are on phase one of a two-phase debris removal process. What phase one entails is assessing the properties that have been impacted by the fires to look for any materials that are potentially asbestos containing and then we're doing an assessment for household hazardous waste items that have not been fully consumed by the fire and we're removing those items. Once that's done, phase two involves removing debris and ash from the property. In an effort to keep those impacted by the Car Fire up to date, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has a website that's regularly updated and shows what progress they're making on each individual lot. Recovering from a wildfire does take time, but the end goal of the debris removal operations is to get the property in a condition that is safe and suitable for homeowners to rebuild. Officials are hopeful that they will be able to complete both phase one and phase two of the debris removal process by early next year. We want the homeowners to know that we're doing this because we want to help not only protect their own health and protect the health of their neighbors and protect the environment-sensitive areas that may come into contact with some of the hazards here, but it's also part of the rebuilding process for them. Find out more information about the debris removal program and process in Shasta County by visiting the County and City of Reading Recovery website ShastaReadingRecovers.org For more recovery resources and information, visit WildfireRecovery.org