ALTADENA, Calif. — Working on the Southern California wildfire recovery is incredibly challenging as people come together from across the country to deploy and offer their help.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently has around 450 people from across the United States actively supporting recovery efforts in support of Los Angeles County, the state of California and FEMA. The backbone of the USACE response effort is the quality assurance representative, or QA, and the quality assurance supervisor, or QAS, teams.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed their first QA teams Jan. 25, hitting the ground running. They showed up equipped with the latest training to guide crews in removing debris, minimizing airborne ash, and maintaining the highest safety standards. Working 12-hour days on their feet, these volunteers received training from those proven to be among the best.
Tiffany Natvidad has become one of the QAS members working on the Eaton Fire, near Altadena, California. Initially assigned as a QA, she was elevated to a QAS in just three weeks. Typically, a member of the Tulsa District power team, this is her first wildfire deployment. One of the most challenging parts of this assignment was preparing for what she would encounter. “QAs come here not knowing if they are coming to Eaton or to the Palisades [fires]—and the Palisades is VERY different,” she said.
Working as a supervisor also means being the face of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for homeowners and residents of Altadena. It’s not an easy task, as it requires a balance between empathy and timeliness.
“Sometimes as a supervisor, you have to work with homeowners who are incredibly upset with losing their home and everything they’ve worked for all of their life. Being patient and helping them to explain their options is crucial,” Natvidad said.
Since these deployments are voluntary, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pulls in people from a variety of backgrounds across the Corps.
Tyler Heitkamp, a Sacramento District architect, volunteered to deploy because he was able to find a 30-day window where he could leave his projects and help those in need. Unsurprisingly, Heitkamp said the mission has been incredibly rewarding—though challenging.
For Heitkamp, the greatest reward has come from interfacing with the public. “Seeing the real-time positive impacts we have on the people of Altadena and interacting with the homeowners directly — learning more about their stories and how this work is helping them,” he said.
While working with survivors is impactful and rewarding, it is not easy. Heitkamp said his day as a QA starts with a meeting at 6 a.m., After their meeting, they report to worksites and supervise debris removal crews until roughly 5:30 p.m. That’s when the administrative portion of the job kicks into high gear. “It’s a lot of taking photos, writing notes and uploading to our app,” Heitkamp said. Because the cellular network was heavily impacted and operating at reduced speeds, they often don’t finish their day until 7 p.m.
Despite the long hours and days, both Natvidad, Heitkamp agreed that it’s worth it when they have the opportunity to support so many survivors that are recovering from the fires. As of April 16, USACE has received nearly 9,000 rights of entries from survivors requesting to have their fire ash and debris removed from their properties. As progress continues on the recovery effort, Soldiers and volunteers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will continue to serve the nation as they have done for the past 250 years.