PPCC Library Integration Test

## Extracted Text

1
Notes from special meetings, California Science Center and Broad Stage
Saturday, January 18, 2025
FEMA
FEMA pays 100% reimbursement to state and local governments only for 180 days for two things: fire-fighting
response and debris removal.
There is a myth that FEMA pays 100% to restore individual people – this is wrong!
For individuals, FEMA will pay for hotel vouchers of approximately $270 per night. Additional
personal assistance from FEMA requires that you first settle with your insurance company (this avoids
duplication/double paying for benefits).
The deadline to submit for FEMA aid is March 10, 2025.
Environmental Pollution/Toxicity
Even though the air appears to be safe and clean in the disaster zone, this is not the case. The fire unleased all
kinds of toxins into the soil. Walking around stirs these up into the air. At a minimum, people should be
wearing N95 masks and goggles. The best of all is to wear a respirator, goggles, and a Haz-mat outfit that you
can change out of when done visiting the area (so that you don’t bring dust out with you and contaminate your
car/house). (Note: many of the first responders are not wearing protection, and this is sending the wrong
signal.)
Debris Removal
There will be two phases to debris removal. This will be time-consuming.
Phase 1 is removal of household hazardous waste. This includes lithium-ion batteries, paints,
ammunition, electric vehicles, etc. Based upon history/experience, this often takes between 6-8+
weeks. Approximately $2.5 billion in funds will be released in the next week to start to pay for Phase 1 debris
removal.
Phase 2 is debris removal on private property. This is removal of the remaining debris, often including
removing the foundation (the intense heat of fires can render foundations unstable to rebuild upon). Because of
the large scale of this disaster, Phase 2 is expected to take many months. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
going to be brought in to assist with this phase.
The biggest potential obstacle delaying debris removal involves finding “staging areas.” These are sites
where toxic debris is brought from individual properties to be sorted and sent on for disposal. These sites need
to be about five-plus acres of flat land – there aren’t many such sites in Pacific Palisades.
The bottom line is that homeowners should not have to pay any “out of pocket” expenses for debris
removal. The Federal government will cover 100% of debris removal costs. People have two options: they can
either pay to have it done by private contractors using insurance proceeds (if the policy covers debris removal),
or they can opt to have the government do the removal.
The “opt in” program is the government option for debris removal. In order to do this, homeowners will need to
do two things: 1) sign a “right of entry” form with the City giving them permission to come onto your property,
and 2) assign insurance policy proceeds for debris removal over to the government (to help pay the costs).
If your insurance proceeds are small or nonexistent, the government will still remove the debris from
your property if you choose this “opt in” option.
California Coastal Commission
Because this is a declared disaster, Coastal Commission review/approval is not needed if you are doing “like for
like” replacement/rebuilding. “Like for like” is using the same footprint, in essentially the same location as your
destroyed home. In addition, you can build back using an additional 10% square footage.
Fraudulent Contractors
Beware: approximately 10-15% of contractor bids in past fires turned out to be fraudulent.
The California Contractor’s Board provides a resource called a “contractor lookup feature” where you can find
state licensed contractors.
The website is: www.cslb.ca.gov.

2
Additional best practices include avoiding “front loaded” contracts where a contractor wants a sizeable
up-front deposit. Many fraudulent contractors take these large up-front payments and skip town.
Public Schools (Marquez and Pali)
Past history suggests that it will take 3-4 years to rebuild the schools, but it might take longer because of the
scale of this disaster.
Until the schools are rebuilt, students will be educated in temporary facilities (I believe trailers). The
government is working on bringing these facilities in.
Regarding Pali High, classes will start remotely (online) on Tuesday, January 21. Approximately 2,900
students will need to be temporarily relocated, though they do not yet know what this will look like
California Department of Insurance
Insurance cannot be canceled/non-renewed for 365 days from the date of the disaster declaration.
Do not let an insurance adjuster pressure you to sign documents.
There is a rumor going around that insurance companies are denying coverage claiming that the disaster
was an “Act of God.” This is false. Insurance companies cannot deny coverage because this disaster is properly
classified as a “catastrophic wildfire.”
Clarification regarding Contents coverage in policies. Contents coverage can be no less than 30% of the
Dwelling coverage. In addition, Contents coverage for $250,000 or less does not require an itemized list of
contents be provided to the insurance company.
Official Sources of Information
Every day at Noon, CalFire will make an announcement regarding areas that are open to people returning. This
is the definitive source of information. (There have been problems where L.A.P.D., Santa Monica P.D.,
National Guard, all have conflicting information.)