A Visit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Temescal Canyon Recycling Site

Apr 9

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

Each day, almost 1,200 truckloads of debris, concrete, and metal exit Pacific Palisades and Malibu for disposal or recycling, according to Col. Brian D. Sawser of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“The whole purpose … is to gather that debris and get it into a controlled environment as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Sawser said. “Our rate of response right now is exceeding anything at this scale that we’ve ever seen before. We’re moving way fast.”

The wet fire ash debris, which is toxic, goes directly “from point of collection to the landfill” in specially rated Super 10 trucks, Sawser said. These vehicles are lined with 10-millimeter plastic that is then folded around the debris. A second tarp covers the folded plastic, and then a hard automatic retractable cover is put over the tarped debris to ensure that it remains inside as truckers drive down PCH or up one of the Canyon roads to exit Pacific Palisades.

“We’re trying to minimize the release of any materials during transport,” Sawser said.

Two recyclable materials—concrete and metal—are sent instead to a staging area on Temescal Canyon Road to begin the recycling process, Sawser said. Both substances are first washed at the original debris sites, then loaded onto trucks, covered with plastic tarps, and brought to Temescal Canyon at Sunset.

“Trucks come up to the top of the hill and they hit the scales first,” Sawser said. In order to assess exactly how much metal and concrete have been collected, “we get their weights when they come in, and then a concrete truck will drop the concrete, and metals will drop at metals.”

The metal is compacted, while the concrete is crushed. Over the course of each day, Sawser estimated that about 3,000 to 4,000 tons are driven to separate processing centers outside the Palisades for recycling and reuse.

Throughout the process, water is sprayed on the debris and recyclables to keep material from going airborne, Sawser said. Air monitors are also used to ensure the crew’s safety.

The Corps uses three types, Sawser said. One is a personal monitor for people working in the ash and debris. Another monitors the general air quality for particulate matter, and a third checks for numerous compounds, including fibers, heavy metals, particulates, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.

“We’re not seeing the transfer of particles into the air that would be of any concern to any Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state, or federal regulations,” Sawser said. “If we do, and we have in small cases, way less than 1 percent of the time, we change our mitigation strategy immediately. We’ll add more water and look at how we’re doing the collection.”

On average, the Corps clears 40 homes per day (1,200 per month). Within the next two months, Sawser estimates that they will have cleared debris from about 3,500 structures of the burnt homes in the Palisades and Malibu.

By Apr. 4, more than 1,100 properties have already been cleared of debris, and the Corps had also received an estimated 4,400 Right of Entry forms, which owners sign to allow the Corps to enter and clear their property, Sawser said. Homeowners have until Apr. 15 to choose the Corps instead of a private service for debris removal.

The task of clearing the properties involves numerous steps, including removing hazardous household materials, including paints, lithium batteries, and other toxic waste—Phase 1 of the clean up, which has been completed. Each site also must have a site access plan to assess any dangers that might be problematic for the crew. An arborist may be required or a nesting bird survey may be needed, particularly for coastal properties.

“We are surging on PCH because of the environmentally sensitive nature of coast-side properties,” Sawser said.

In addition, every site is tested for asbestos, a carcinogen that has been found in around 40 percent of the properties, Sawser estimated. If asbestos is present, an abatement team will be sent out to triple bag and remove all of the asbestos-containing material, which can take hours or days, depending on how extensive the asbestos is throughout the property.

Currently, debris clean-up is only offered to homeowners and public properties, such as the Palisades Library, Palisades High, Marquez Elementary, and Palisades Elementary, all of which have been cleared of debris, Sawser said. Commercial properties and churches have not yet been included, because the first step is to see whether insurance might cover their debris removal.

“The mission is always changing,” Sawser said, so it’s hard to estimate an accurate finish date. The final portion of properties tend to have more challenging issues to address. For example, “you’re going to have legal complexities and significant engineering challenges on some of these properties.”

Nonetheless, he expects to beat the original January 2026 deadline, perhaps by months, Sawser said. Temescal Canyon Road is taking a beating though from the Corps’ work, so one of the last steps of the project will be to repair and improve the road.

“We will return the road in a better condition than we found it,” Sawser said. “That was the agreement.”

Lt. Com. Nathan Weander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visits a debris removal site in Pacific Palisades. Photo: Doug Suisman

Commercial properties, such as the destroyed Reel Inn on Pacific Coast Highway, are not yet included in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers scope of clean up work. Photo: Doug Suisman

An overhead view of Temescal Canyon, the staging area for metal baling and concrete crushing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Video courtesy of Chris Rosario