Deadline for residents impacted by wildfires to apply for Army Corps' debris removal program extended

The deadline for residents who were impacted by the wildfires in the Los Angeles area to opt into the government-run debris removal program has been extended.

At a news conference Friday morning, LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger announced FEMA had extended the deadline for residents to submit their Right of Entry forms for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' program.

The new deadline is April 15, and Barger said it will now include commercial and multi-family residential properties. 

"Up until this moment, they were not included in the ROE process and I'm grateful to FEMA for recognizing that we need additional time now that they are going to be allowed to be cleared by the Army Corps," Barger said. 

She said that the county has been working with state and federal officials to ensure every resident that was impacted by the fires has access to resources. 

"In response to the Los Angeles wildfires, FEMA's authority has been extended beyond public area debris removal to include single family residences to help mitigate the immediate public health threat and accelerate the economic recovery of impacted communities," FEMA said in a statement. 

The Army Corps has been working on Phase 2 of fire debris removal for several weeks. They are offering residents whose properties were impacted by the fire the opportunity to have fire debris safety removed for free. To opt into the program, residents are required to submit a Right of Entry form, granting the government access to their property.

Residents can also opt out of the Army Corps' program and hire their own private contractor to remove the debris. Private contractors have to abide by all local, state and federal requirements. 

Barger said nearly 9,800 property owners have opted into the program so far and about 1,000 have opted out. Of the ROEs that have been submitted, 7,000 have been processed over to the Army Corps. 

Col. Eric Swenson from the Army Corps said they've completed operations on 949 parcels. 

Use this link to access the Right of Entry forms. 

Aside from the free debris removal residents can access, there are several forms of financial assistance available. 

List of federal and state programs offering disaster relief aid:

• FEMA Individual Assistance 
• Small Business Administration Disaster Loan
• Disaster Unemployment Assistance

The deadline for these resources remains March 31. 

Use this link to see a list of assistance residents can apply for.