EPA has completed clearing 50% of burned homes of hazardous material

SPOKANE, Wash. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now cleared hazardous materials from 50% of the affected burned out properties in the area.

FEMA gave EPA sixty days to clear impacted properties. The process began on August 18th.

“Reaching the halfway point in this cleanup is a significant milestone, but our work isn’t finished. We took immediate, decisive action from the very start of this response, and that same urgency continues to drive our teams every day,” said EPA Regional Administrator Emma Pokon. “This progress means more families can begin the next chapter of their recovery, and we remain committed to finishing this work safely and as quickly as possible.”

Currently, EPA has about 250 specialized personnel working in the Spokane area, including experienced response staff from across the country.

“Our crews have been out here every day since this response began, working through hundreds of properties with the same level of care on property number one as on property number four hundred,” said EPA Incident Commander Brooks Stanfield in a press release. “Fifty percent complete reflects the dedication of our field teams and the strong coordination we’ve had with Spokane County and our state partners.”

Numbers from EPA:

67,700 pounds household hazardous material removed449 properties completed for household hazardous material removal

EPA says its teams are “removing potentially dangerous products and chemicals, including things like paints, cleaning supplies, and automotive oils, lawn products such as herbicides and pesticides, batteries, including both standard and rechargeable types, and propane tanks and other pressurized gas containers. 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.”

The EPA shared this guidance for property owners:

Household Hazardous Material (HHM) Removal (pdf)

The public can find more information about EPA’s hazardous material removal operations for the Eastern Washington Wildfires on our StoryMap where people can see what houses have been cleared.