Fire Officials Take 'First Step' In Allowing Wildfire Victims Back Home

UPDATE, 9 a.m.: On Thursday morning, officials offered a more concrete timeline for when residents can expect to return home. They said it will be, at minimum, one more week. Read the latest.

Original story below:

LOS ANGELES, CA — Officials have signaled that residents displaced by the Palisades and Eaton fires shouldn't expect to return home this week as danger remains in the evacuation zones in the form of toxic waste, broken infrastructure and ongoing fire hotspots.

"I wish I could give you a timeline" for repopulation, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday morning. "But I can't specifically."

However, officials did outline the "first step" they're taking to prepare the impacted areas for residents' return, which includes clearing out hazardous waste and repairing infrastructure.

The timeline for when residents will be allowed back into evacuation zones "will not be days," LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said on Monday, suggesting that residents shouldn't expect to return to their homes — or survey what's left of them — this week.

While the vast majority of those who were forced to evacuate remain under evacuation orders over a week later, some evacuation orders have been lifted, Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday.

Evacuation orders for a small part of Altadena (south of Canyon Crest Road and west of Lincoln Avenue) were lifted Tuesday afternoon.

No evacuation orders have been lifted for the Palisades Fire area.

"A message to the community and those that were impacted by these fires — we understand your desire to return to your community," Crowley said Wednesday. "However, significant safety and infrastructure issues remain, including downed power lines, broken gas lines, hazardous materials and unsafe water."

Gov. Gavin Newsom requested that the federal government remove all household hazardous waste from properties impacted by the fires, according to Robert Fenton Jr., regional administrator FEMA.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was directed to perform that task, with an initial $100 million budget. Over the next few days, 40 teams comprised of 500 people total will go through the fire-impacted areas and remove paint, cleaners, pesticides, fuel cylinders, batteries, larger asbestos debris and other materials, Fenton said.

"This will be the first step in getting survivors back to their homes and communities," he said. "By removing the hazards ... we can get into the greater debris clearing and ultimately rebuilding."

Additionally, Crowley said that a nighttime aerial survey of the Palisades Fire using infrared cameras revealed that numerous hotspots still exist in the fire — so the fire remains burning, even if it doesn't look like it from the naked eye.

"There are a lot of things that you can't see that are underground — there's a lot of hazards. Those are things that are going to have to be evaluated hour by hour, day by day, so that we can make sure that when we start allowing our community members back to their homes that they are safe," Luna said.

Meantime, FEMA has begun distributing the initial $770 payments to those impacted by the fires and on Tuesday began directing applicants through the process of obtaining Transitional Sheltering Assistance. In that program, FEMA pays for hotel stays to allow residents time to look for other temporary or permanent housing options, Fenton said.

Here's a list of helpful links:

• Apply for FEMA aid
• Up-to-date information on evacuation warnings and orders
• LA County fire-emergency information