 Okay I want to thank everyone for coming out this morning. My name is Assemblyman James Gallagher and I represent the Third Assembly District and today we wanted to get out some information to the general public as we are as a community up here the community of Paradise, Conkow, Magalia, Yankee Hill, Cherokee as we're seeking to recover and rebuild in the wake of this devastating campfire. There's some important deadlines that are coming up that are key for the for the community to understand and we want to help ensure that we're getting out the word and that we're meeting these steps so that we can get back up here and rebuild and and move on with our lives as best as possible. You know there's still a lot of shock as you can imagine and you've heard some of the stories people fleeing for their lives fire on both sides it was pure hell and this community as people were trying to escape and so there's still a lot of shock of people you know trying to deal with that situation and also figure out what are the next steps forward so we kind of have to keep getting this information out to really make sure the public knows and that together there's a lot of resources available that are coming on board from the federal from the federal level the state level you know where I'm at and all the way on down to the local level to help people get back get back up and running and so we want to we want to be helpful with that and so one of the very first steps that has to be done in order for us to rebuild is we need to remove the massive amounts of debris that is in the Paradise Community and the surrounding communities it is the largest debris cleanup post fire in California history so this is going to be a huge monumental task it's gonna take a lot of work to get there but in order for us to rebuild we've got to get that removed and what we want to let people know is that there is a deadline for signing up for the government sponsored debris removal program and that deadline as you'll see right here behind me is January 31st and we really want to encourage the community you know to sign up for that program and the way to do that is you have to sign off on what is called a right of entry form that right of entry form you know has to be received by January 31st now on this program there's no cost up front to you to do that Cal OES is bidding out the the contract for that and there will be a very large effort that will be coming in and doing the debris removal in a very efficient and consistent way throughout the communities now I know the first thing because you know I got into government because I didn't like where things were going and and I very often and very skeptical of government you know I I took my community through the Oroville Dam incident and there's a lot of people who you know in this area who I know you know say man what's going on with this government program people don't trust government and I know there are instances where we have good reason not to trust government but this program and I've talked to many other of my colleagues who've gone through other wildfire disasters has been very effective at getting the debris removed efficiently and also to ensuring that you have a certificate at the end of it that says you can rebuild that the hazardous material has been properly removed so you have a buildable lot so you can go back up and begin the building process and for those of us who are saying we want to move for we want to get paradise rebuilt that's really important that we do that and we want to get this process moving in a very efficient manner so that we don't have you know piles of rubble that are left behind and not dealt with and maybe subject to an abandonment process down the road we want to have an efficient process so that everybody's coming up in here and we are rebuilding together and so in order to do that we need to really make sure that this this program gets off the ground and that's why it's important for people to sign up for it again that deadline is going to be January 31st and so we really want to help get that message out this is that first step a lot of things we're going to have to go through and what I want to I think what you know and what I want to reiterate again today is that my office and so many others from congressman Lamoff at the federal level senator nielson with me your local officials who are with us today mayor jody jones supervisor Doug teeter we are going to be with you through this process you know and we want to make sure that we get through these steps together but there's a lot that needs to be done step one let's get this debris removed so that we can begin the process of rebuilding and so we really want to encourage people to sign up get that right of entry form signed and executed and turned in so that we can begin the rebuild process together and with that I will turn it over to our director of the governor's office of Cal OES office of emergency services director mark gillard duty thanks assemblymember and madam mayor and supervisor happen to be with you today you know I really it's hard to add anything to what assembly McGallagher described to you except this we have had to manage wildfires all throughout California over the course of the last many years this program that we're talking about to come in to do debris clearance his is a 12-year program with a very very positive track record in history and I can tell you from managing many disasters throughout California actually across the country in my tenure the fastest most effective way to get a community back up online the fastest most effective way to get economic recovery started is with a very rapid effort to remove the debris and the hazardous materials that are in the way and you know we've already begun just really 30 days after the beginning of the first phase of the household hazardous waste cleanup where we've had crews up here from the Department of Toxic Substance Control from the US EPA they've already clear close to 7,000 lots there they're roughly 50% of the way through where we're at and have really been we honestly believe we will exceed the metric that we've set forth and that is because it's been done in a very effective and efficient manner and in close coordination with local authorities we know you know we're just coming out of clean-up operations in the car fire in Shasta County and that was right on the heels of the fires in the North Bay in 2017 and interestingly enough the debris was removed significantly and very rapidly in the North Bay it allowed the city of Santa Rosa and in the local areas to start to rebuild faster in fact Coffee Park is close to being 60% built out at this point and this is a very significant move because it allows for building materials to be maximized contractors to be maximized builders to be maximized and it allows us to to leverage all of the state federal and private sector resources whether it's whether it's physical resources or it is financial resources to bring them in in an effective way to be able to get the community rebuilt there's nothing more than we want than to work and work closely with the town of Paradise and Butte County to get this community rebuilt so in the second phase of the debris removal requires that individuals sign a right of entry form for these contractors to come in and remove the debris from their property and I can't encourage you enough and the importance of this to get the right of entry form sign participate in the government program the lot will be cleared and it will be addressed in a very respectful manner the lot will then be certified at the end of the cleanup and it will be turnkey and ready to be rebuilt on okay the 31st of January is the the deadline that we've said and that is because we are rapidly bringing on and going out and reaching out to bring on contractors heavy equipment debris haulers and others that are experienced in being able to manage and and this volume of debris and assembly member Gallagher is correct this is now the largest debris operation that we have had to deal with in the state but we are look we are really gaining and leveraging all of that experience that we have and through our partners at Cal Recycle which is the going to be the lead organization with a unified incident management team led by Cal OES and a number and in our partners at FEMA we will be working to to rapidly move move the debris so with that I just want to to reinforce and reiterate really the great partnership you know I really do I can just tell you from very very extensive experience that getting getting this debris cleared is the number one priority at this point so we can get the the community rebuilt and effective and efficient manner is getting all the resources those heavy equipment operators those teams in here get them through once get the community ready to go and it turn make a turnkey for for rebuilding so with that I think we're going to turn over to the supervisor hi supervisor Doug Teter district five includes Paradise Miguelia also want to point out unincorporated areas were affected by this fire of concaw Buchrie Canyon so I did a poll for what it's worth on Paradise Miguelia Ransom raves almost 60% said they're using the state program I also asked if you're undecided why one was are you waiting for a quote from a private contractor and then the other is I'm undecided because I need more information and then the last one was I'm undecided because I'm not sure what my insurance is going to give me as debris removal money so on the undecided I hope they reach out my office's number is 552 5000 and that's area code 530 552 5000 and we can direct you to the right department that can answer your questions also there's a meeting in Durham tonight on debris removal and I'm having a meeting this Sunday at the Miguelia Community Church one to three and I always bring staff that can answer questions or help you fill out your right of entry and also Cal OAS sends a representative there as well to answer questions so if it's true that 60% are using the state program I'd like to see those numbers show show up being turned in you know I didn't ask the question have you turned them in yet so hopefully if you've made your decision get on it as it's been repeated and I'll do it again January 31st is the deadline and if you miss out maybe you could get a private contractor there's the wrong way to do cleanup which is have the town or county have to abate your property which probably would be the most expensive so I do recommend that people make a decision and he'd heed this deadline so look forward to rebuilding our community and I want to thank the town county and all the state agencies for all their help and getting us back to our homes hi I'm Jody Jones mayor of Paradise and I want to encourage everyone to use this program if you have questions there is at butte County recovers dot org a section and questions and answers and even videos of people asking questions and the answers to those questions I've had all my questions answered I've turned my forms in so I wanted to share with you just some personal tips about the process and turning your forms in please read the form carefully because it requires certain information from you I had to go back twice because it says it wants some copies of government ID for each person signing and I went in with my husband's signature but not a copy of his driver's license so if you if your property is in a trust you need copies of your trust which may have burned down don't worry about that you can contact your attorney and you can get a certification of trust which they will accept so read the form if you're concerned about your septic system you can draw a little diagram of where your tank and your leech lines are or if you really want specific information to give to them the town of Paradise town hall in Paradise is open Monday through Thursday from 8 to 12 and you can pick up your septic plans to attach them to the form so please don't be intimidated by the form just read it carefully and save yourself from having to go back a second time like I did I would encourage everyone to sign up early don't wait for the deadline and and I also want to remind people that the same date January 31st is also the deadline to register with FEMA thank you okay well I just want to reemphasize you know this is the purpose today is to really let people know about the January 31st deadline that is the deadline to sign up for the government sponsored program for debris removal and you do that by signing and executing a right of entry form and I also want to emphasize what Mayor Jones just said it's also the deadline we had we got the deadline extended to sign up with FEMA for relief through FEMA whether individual relief low-interest loans for your business and other other relief that's out there we were and even if you've been rejected or you've got some kind of rejection letter you can reapply again and this has been emphasized many times and get relief through FEMA that deadline is also January 31st so we would encourage people you know those deadline is it's fast approaching it'll be here before we know it and we know that we want to recover together we want to move this process forward we want to rebuild paradise and the communities of Butte County that have been devastated by this campfire and so with that I'll answer any questions that people might have at this time we also have representatives from Cal OES and FEMA Eric Lamarau point out who's who's been heading up a lot of the debris removal program and can answer pretty much any all questions and Kevin Honest from FEMA as well who can answer other questions on the FEMA side so any questions at this time go ahead I'm all let some folks speak to that I don't know that there's any monetary incentive in that sense what what it what it does do is you do not have to pay any money upfront you know the program will come in they'll do the debris removal the only thing that may happen is they may come after your insurance proceeds for debris removal later however if you've used your insurance proceeds your debris removal insurance proceeds to clean up the rest of your property whether it's trees or other things impediments because this is just going to take care of the the house footprint and you have no no insurance proceeds left after doing that there will be no collection on that so it is essentially free in that in that sense but I'll let Eric maybe answer that a little bit more fully so with the state's program we're only going to be looking to collect what's in your insurance policy specifically for debris if you choose to do it yourself you're going to be on the hook for a hundred percent of those costs so more than likely if you do it yourself you're going to have more control over the timing of the cleanup but it's going to end up costing you more what we will do one of the main one of the primary priorities for us on cleanup is looking to clean up those areas where we have concentrations of right of entry forms so those neighborhoods that are able to sign up by January 31st give us their ROE those neighborhoods will certainly receive some priority within our client project but they're to your answer your question there is no financial incentive on the front end or if there's a cluster of people of some sort of a financial kickback there's none of that what but it as the assemblymember said the program overall is is free and and and there is no cost to you if you participate in it so we will have contractors on board toward the end of this month we are hoping on January 28th to begin our cleanup operations generally it takes about two to three days to get through a parcel sometimes a little bit less if it's a smaller parcel our hope is that by the first week of February 1st to 2nd week of February we're going to see some of our first sites cleaned so we will have several hundred crews at any given time working throughout Paradise and Butte County continually working we will set daily weekly metrics to ensure that at the end of the day we're going to have all these sites cleaned up within 12 months and again one thing I want to emphasize is we're not really talking about you know the private some people are deciding to go the private contractor route there has been information given out about there are certain certifications they need to have and that's there's an alternative program that's being set up through Butte County correct that they go through we're just really emphasizing this is what the government program does and we're encouraging people to sign up you know if you decide to go that route and we think it's a good route to go the deadlines January 31st so that's why you know we want to get that information out about and then people will decide you know what which way they're going to go but I think probably the biggest difference is just that there is no upfront payment for the government sponsored program they may come for insurance proceeds later but again if those have been depleted because of other debris clean up then there really is no cost let me just add one thing that to be clear on the insurance proceeds if your insurance if your insurance that you have has a rider or designator for debris that's that's what we would go back in to seek and again as the seven members said if that if you haven't used those proceeds for other not not part of the program to do debris removal from your property then you know what we wouldn't go in and and seek that in return but you know as any government we're pretty government funding in efforts forward if there is a recovery of some funds and again only in those riders they would do that otherwise there would be no recovery and we don't touch your overall insurance for for what you have for your home etc okay but one of the thing on the differences big differences the government program is free to you a contractor is not and there is going to be a very limited amount of available heavy equipment and contracting that you can rapidly get in and move the debris out because the we're going to be bringing on almost everybody that's available and in this size of a debris operation we're going to be getting resources from from all over California so it's going to be a pretty significant effort sorry I didn't catch the first part the government shutdown will have no effect on this and this is a state program and the state of California is is is leading it and you know the governor has already made funds available and we're that that will have no effect whatsoever so I don't know specifically those particular cases but I'm going to say that when we come in and do a lot cleaning that that lot is cleaned and the soil is tested and it's coordinated with the building official and it's rendered certified to begin to rebuild now there's a difference we don't come in and the government doesn't come in and if we remove the and we move a little layer of of soil because typically that soil is contaminated and and then what what the homeowner needs to do is bring back the soil that's that's necessary to refilled and have that soil engineered to be able to build on we do not do the compaction and we do not do the engineering what we do is we do the debris clearance and and that is the extent of the program that we do so there there may be some individuals that have had their debris cleared and other fires that didn't necessarily understand that part and they've they've said well look we didn't have an engineered lot that the engineering comes on the on the part of the homeowner and that's part of what the their insurance proceeds etc should be used for I think she was next well you know look these this program has to be as you know I think you as a homeowner will want the most most certified qualified and secure entity coming on your property and doing the work and so part of the the government's program and I will say our our effort is to hire as many subcontractor locals as we possibly can and so that's something that can be negotiated and work with the prime contractor we leave that to the prime contractor to do but on balance we also as the mayor mentioned requiring certain kinds of identification we want to make sure that that that that we are as sensitive and secure with security etc about the people working on and around your lot so it's not that we wouldn't necessarily push them out it's that they would need to come and work with us subcontractors and if and look at we want as many local folks engaged in the process as possible I think one thing I would just add to that is I also understand this is the largest debris cleanup that we've seen in California history this is going to be a huge monumental task it is going to take private contractors as well as those who are being contracted under this program to get this job done so there's going to be a lot of work for everyone I've talked to the director and he has committed to ensuring that we get as many local people working under the contract as well through subcontract so let's be clear there's going to be a lot of local work on this project and we are and we're all in this together we want to make sure that this job gets done so that we as a community can rebuild and so we're going to be working through all those you know nobody's saying this is just going to be everything's going to be perfect there's going to be issues as we move down the road but step one is getting these properties cleared so that we can begin the rebuild process yeah Rick well you know in reality you know that this is all part of the long-term recovery that the the town of Paradise and the and the other communities working with with the state and and and all of the partners need to come to you because you know there's going to be permitting there's going to be there's going to be architectural designs and etc and so you know I can only say that and a big factor has to do quite frankly with available workforce so in this state already we you know as you may know we we have a limited number of people who can bend nails and build homes and so it's very important that you know we're continuing to look to ensure that we have as many resources as possible that will drive a lot of speed at which homes can get rebuilt but as a measuring stick if you look at you 60% built out within a year of the fire in in Coffee Park gives you some indication on where it can go now some communities are different in the Lake County they're I think are between about 27 and and 30% built out and I think that there's some some buildings that are already being built up in up in Shasta so it really depends upon availability of resources how fast the community can do the permitting process and what what they what the community at large wants paradise to look like after the fire those are all factors that will need to be considered and it depends on the work that the homeowner has done during the debris removal process you can be doing a number of things to get yourself ready design having your home designed getting a contractor on board starting the permitting process we can take applications for building permits we simply cannot issue a building permit until the lot has been certified so if you do all that stuff up front you could start building the day after you get your certification as soon as we could issue that building permit can I really quickly get one question at where can people get right of entry forms is that are they being mailed or where can they get those directly go ahead Eric there's a number of different locations you can get right of entry forms at any of our community meetings so if you happen to attend tonight's community meeting in Durham we'll have them there the right of entry center is at 202 Mira Loma and that's in Oroville that's a county office in Oroville where you can get your right of entries you can meet with staff if you've got questions about filling it out and you can also turn it in there and I believe you can also get right of entry forms at disaster recovery center which is at the old Sears location at the Chico mall Eric's been great to work with I've been at a lot of disaster or a debris removal community meeting so I want to say thank you for all your efforts but you forgot one for those with the internet you can go to bute County recovers dot org also bute County recovers dot org yes sir so our cleanup is focused on what we call the ash footprint so that's where the home the outbuilding the garage came down that's what we'll clean up we generally aren't going to clean up sidewalks patios driveways if there's ash or debris on those we usually sweep that clean that off of the the sidewalk or patio into the ash footprint and take it away so we're primarily just going to be focused on that ash footprint and removing that contaminated ash and debris all those other sidewalks and patios will be left behind. Paradise is just beginning the planning process for what we want our town to look like after the rebuild it's going to be an open public process we started it Tuesday night we'll have more details about that on the 23rd which is the next council meeting and the decision about where manufactured or mobile homes will be allowed has not yet been made but will be a part of that open public process we'll be taking public comment and then the council will make decisions after that we're it's a very accelerated process and we're hoping to have that planning process finished in 12 to 14 weeks so it won't be a long time that you have to wait to get those decisions. Being the county if I may add I don't know if you can really buy mobile homes anymore their modular homes they're built to a much higher standard I actually put it down on a mobile or modular I should I use the old term but I don't foresee that that modular homes will be prevented from being used in unincorporated areas there are property owners associations in unincorporated so they may make up their own mind but like the mayor said the county hasn't weighed in on land use or any planning issues I just want to back it up and go hey let's get the debris removal going and once crews are out on the ground your local governments are going to start doing those policy decisions so I think in insurance industry what's insurable is going to drive what you may build on your property so I highly recommend you talk to your insurance agent on exactly what they're going to ensure because I've heard some insurance companies are not going to insure modular homes that is just one that I talked to my particular insurance agent but that could change you know things change modulars are much different today a lot of them have sprinklers so to use the term mobile or to use like old ones that would be coming on those those old things you know might get not allowed to be on property so I hope that everyone understands that this is an ongoing discussion so thank you so every property owner has a responsibility to clean up their ash and debris the responsibility can be addressed by signing up by January 31st giving us an ROE and we'll take care of it they have the opportunity to clean it themselves through the county program or they'll be an abatement process that both the county and the town will go through and those towns will be abated folks going through that abatement process are going to end up spending considerably more than either of the other two options so oh I understand your question someone whose home wasn't lost so our program will have a number of very stringent requirements on dust control so we work extremely hard to keep dust down during our cleanup utilizing water on the site right now as we begin our cleanup there's been a lot of rain activity so a lot of the material has already been settled well on the site so a lot of dust control measures we've got air monitoring that occurs at the site and throughout what we call our haul route from the site to the debris to the location where the debris goes and so we take extraordinary measures to constantly monitor air quality to ensure that we are not getting ash and debris up into the air so obviously every person's situation is different some folks are going to react differently based upon their own personal situation the best guidance is for obviously children and animals around ash and debris we encourage folks to minimize that but we through our cleanup effort will make every effort to keep all the ash and debris out of the air yes they can we have one back do we have another question yes sir right so I can't speak to insurance rates and what they're going to be that's not you know my bailey wick what I will say is that actually just last year we passed legislation that requires insurance companies that they have to renew your home owners policy up to three years so what we're going to do right so I can't speak to insurance rates and what they're going to be that's not two three years so when you come up for renewal they have to renew you it up to three more years on your policy that you have right now that's state law but as far as like rates and what those are going to be I can't really speak to that today so and this and the focus of this is really just on the debris removal today so there's no one here from department of insurance or anything like that so yeah yeah alright well thank you guys thank you for coming out today we appreciate you for helping us get the message out again January 31st to sign up for this program debris removal program and with for FEMA assistance thank you