EPA Assists During First Phase of Southern California Wildfire Recovery

Home fire disaster

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been assisting the local government and residents due to catastrophic fires in Los Angeles County. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has assigned EPA the first stage of the overall recovery and cleanup: the project to remove lithium-ion batteries and survey, remove, and dispose of hazardous materials from properties burned by wildfires.

On Jan. 24, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the EPA to complete its hazardous materials mission responding to the Los Angeles wildfires as soon as possible. EPA’s work removing hazardous materials is Phase 1 of the federal cleanup response.

According to the EPA incident commander, more than 1,000 people will be working on Phase 1 cleanup by this weekend. This work is a mandatory process to ensure the safety of residents and the workers who will—after the hazardous material is gone—conduct the Phase 2 debris removal in the burn footprints and prevent these materials from being released into the environment. Phase 2 is debris removal, which FEMA will coordinate. Once Phase 1 has been completed at a property, Phase 2 will begin automatically.

EPA will remove potentially dangerous everyday products, including household products such as paints, cleaning supplies, and automotive oils; garden products such as herbicides and pesticides; batteries, including standard and rechargeable types; and propane tanks and other pressurized gas containers. They will remove visible asbestos and inspect pressurized fuel cylinders (like propane tanks). After a fire, these products require special handling, especially if their containers are damaged. EPA field teams will also remove items thought to have asbestos if they are easy to identify, but the property will not be fully cleared until Phase 2 (debris removal).

EPA also will remove lithium-ion batteries from vehicles, homes, and other products. Many homes have damaged or destroyed lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, and electric and hybrid cars. The batteries should be considered extremely dangerous, even if they look intact. Lithium-ion batteries can spontaneously re-ignite, explode, and emit toxic gases and particulates even after the fire is out. Residents can call our hotline at 1-833-798-7372 if they encounter a lithium-ion battery while re-entering their property and/or are unsure if it was damaged.

Residents are encouraged to exercise extreme caution when returning to their properties.

The EPA is partnering with the U.S. Military and Department of Homeland Security to develop and execute a plan to expedite the removal of contaminated and general debris.

If residents are on their property when EPA arrives for the hazardous materials removal, the crew will not be able to conduct work at that property and will return later. EPA will remove only hazardous materials by hand and will not remove any non-hazardous materials. If crews find objects of value, EPA will contact local law enforcement to track and remove the objects for safekeeping.

EPA has secured temporary storage, or staging, locations for materials from each fire site. Removed hazardous waste materials are brought into these staging areas daily, processed into appropriate waste streams, and packaged for shipment and proper disposal.

This guidance has been previously shared with impacted communities.

Click here to read guidance on Phase 1: Hazardous Material Removal.

Click here to read guidance on Lithium-ion Batteries.

The public can find more information about EPA’s hazardous material removal operations at the agency’s 2025 California Wildfires website, which will be continuously updated as EPA’s work progresses.

Cleanfax Staff

Cleanfax provides cleaning and restoration professionals with information designed to help them manage and grow their businesses.

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