ALTADENA, Calif. — Homeowners Beverly Outterbridge and her daughter, Tami, arrived early Aug. 14 to their property in Altadena.
As U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives and contractors prepared an area in front of the burned-out shell where the Outterbridges’ home once stood, Tami greeted each person with a smile.
“Welcome to our home,” she said, handing out a statement she had prepared to read at a ceremony later that day.
The ceremony marked the start of debris removal at the Outterbridges’ property — the final private property assigned to USACE in the Eaton Fire recovery area.
While crews buzzed around the Outterbridge’s former front yard, Beverly spoke about the birds of paradise plants that had survived the blaze and how she hoped to relocate them.
Tami spoke about her father — the late Los Angeles artist and icon John Outterbridge, known as “Bridge” throughout the art community — who died in 2020.
During the wildfires, the family lost decades of archival materials and artwork belonging to her father and other noted artist colleagues, Tami said. Being the last private property scheduled for debris removal gave her and her mother time to search for items related to his legacy. Tami said she hopes other artists will incorporate those salvaged materials into tribute pieces for a planned exhibition titled “DIGGING BRIDGE.”
As guests began arriving and media cameras started to roll, Lt. Col. David Weart, commander of the Eaton Area Emergency Field Office, opened the ceremony by noting the significance of the event.
“Today marks a key milestone from the recovery from the Eaton Fire,” he said. “This community has endured so much since January, and it has been our mission since then to help clear a path for recovery with expert technical skill and compassion. Fittingly, the first and last private properties cleared in the Eaton area are both here in Altadena.”
Weart described the house behind the podium and the artist who once lived there as having historic symbolism to the LA community.
“Mr. Outterbridge was a cultural icon, whose family asked for an extended time to search through the debris for salvageable artwork and artifacts,” he said. “Mrs. Outterbridge, we are honored to grant your wish to collect those belongings and support your plans to turn those items into an exhibition. Thank you for allowing us to use this site today to commemorate the event.”
To date, Weart said, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors have removed more than 1.4 million tons of debris and cleared more than 5,600 private properties across the Eaton Fire recovery area, marking the fastest debris mission in the agency’s history.
“This rapid and safe recovery effort was made possible by the support of our partners at FEMA, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, LA County and local community members across Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre,” he said. “We must also recognize the incredible effort of all our first responders and our efficient debris crews, who have tirelessly served this community over the past seven months.
“As our mission ends here, our goal is to treat every property with the same level of expertise and care, as if it were the first. We will do that with this home and the remaining projects here in the Eaton and Palisades areas.”
Other noteworthy speakers at the ceremony included Rep. Judy Chu, representative for California’s 28th Congressional District; Bob Fenton, FEMA Region 9 administrator; Eli Owen, alternate state coordinating officer with California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services; Anish Saraiya, director of Altadena Recovery for Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Nic Arnzen, council member with Altadena Town Council; and Tami Outterbridge.
Chu said it was a monumental day for Altadena and Pasadena, as she thanked USACE, FEMA, Cal OES, Los Angeles County and “every single worker, volunteer and community member, who made today possible.”
“It was just over six months ago that our community was changed forever,” she said. “The Eaton Fire became the second most destructive fire in California’s history, destroying nearly 9,500 structures, displacing over 20,000 people and taking the lives of 19 of our neighbors.”
Officials knew the cleanup would be a massive undertaking, Chu said, and urged residents to opt in to the USACE debris removal program because there was no out-of-pocket cost to homeowners, and, it would be done safely, with public health as the number one priority.
Following the wildfires, “our federal officials, our faith leaders, our community organizers and neighbors came together to share the information and remind one another that no one was facing this alone,” she said. “What I will never forget is representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA staying for hours — answering every question, answering every fear, answering every concern and promising the people of Altadena that they would not be left behind and that they would see this cleanup through, no matter how long it took.
“At the beginning of the whole process, it was said that it would take 18 months to do all the cleanup, but then these crews moved so quickly, and, in just six months, crews cleared more than 9,300 property structures in the Eaton Fire area. That makes this the fastest residential fire cleanup in modern U.S. history. It is an extraordinary achievement.”
Weart closed by emphasizing progress and healing.
“Every cleared property represents progress,” he said. “It means one more family can begin to rebuild and take a small step toward healing. It means one more piece of the community is restored. To the people of Altadena, thank you for your strength, your patience and your trust. We are proud to begin the mission here, and we are proud to mark this moment with you today.”