Home / Media / News Stories

News Story Archive

News Story Manager

Results:
Tag: USACE
Clear

  • May

    A picture of Roselle Pettit, an engineering technician from the Sacramento District working out of the Tucson office.

    Tracking the cleanup: USACE technician powers debris data operations

    After the early January wildfires in Southern California, the Eaton and Palisades fire zones have been left with an estimated 7.5 million tons of debris to clean up. Given the number of historical homes in the area, this debris requires specialized treatment and must be transported to designated landfills. Ensuring this is done correctly is a major reason the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed in support of the mission.
  • Col. Sonny Avichal, commander of the Emergency Field Office – Eaton, returns Derek Russell Jr.’s late father’s police badge May 5 at the Southern California Wildfire Recovery Field Office building lobby in Pasadena, California. The badge was recovered from the debris of Russell’s home following the Eaton Fire in January.

    USACE team helps wildfire survivor reclaim priceless keepsake

    In the aftermath of the January wildfires in Southern California, many residents returned to their properties to find little left but ash and debris. Among them was Derek Russell Jr., who had just buried his father — a retired police officer and Army veteran — a month before the Eaton Fire consumed his home.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee Kelly Simoneaux, a security specialist with the Sacramento District is currently deployed in support of the Southern California wildfires as a call center representative. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    Behind the Phones: USACE Call Center Provides Lifeline to Wildfire Survivors

    When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was tasked to conduct debris removal following the Southern California wildfires, they knew residents would have questions. On Feb. 1, USACE personnel launched a call center, built a rapid training program and got to work.
  • Members of USACE conduct initial debris site surveys for the first batch of non-residential properties approved for USACE debris removal. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    NEPA, archaeology specialists support largest USACE wildfire cleanup to date

    Survivors of the Southern California wildfires are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear piles of debris left behind by the unusually destructive January blazes. In the Eaton fire zone, the destruction wasn’t limited to residential housing — it also affected many organizations vital to the Altadena community.
  • USACE employee Darius Wallace stands amonst the charred remains of what was once his home. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    USACE helps one of their own begin to recover

    As a former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, employee, Darius Wallace, had never seen anything like the Southern California wildfires that destroyed his home Jan. 7.
  • Arborist Victor Velazquez, from Tetra Tech, shakes hands with Greg Gully, contract engineer with USACE following Velazquez's inspection of questionable trees during the debris cleanup of the Southern California wildfires. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    From risk to recovery: Arborists aid fire survivors

    Following the Southern California wildfires, many survivors returned to find their homes destroyed, with little left standing on their property. Among the few things that often remained were trees.
  • Uniformed and civilian members of USACE provide outreach to the Altadena community while attending events in the Eaton fire zone. Answering questions, providing guidance, and a listening ear, they are some of the most prominant faces on the USACE mission. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    Task Force Phoenix Community Outreach bringing their response to the people

    Providing information and answering questions from survivors is an important mission for the Southern California Wildfire Response program and the community outreach for Task Force Phoenix has been busy lately.
  • USACE Safety Officer for EFO-Eaton, Taylor Bayless stands at the ready to identify and mitigate safety risks for all personell working the wildfire recovery zone.

    USACE safety team protects workers from hidden hazards after the flames

    Cleaning up after the Southern California wildfires is no easy task. Given the ages of many of the homes burned within the Eaton Fire, there are numerous hazards to contend with. From lead paint to asbestos, the level of once-safe, now-deadly chemicals at play is no laughing matter. Add in the chemical reactions triggered by such a hot fire, and the situation becomes even worse.
  • USACE Employees and members of the nonprofit Save The Tiles take a brief moment from wrapping and packing for a group photo. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    Preserving the past: USACE supports mission to recover fire-surviving artifacts

    When the Southern California wildfires began to rage on Jan. 7, many in the Altadena and Pasadena areas tuned in to their TVs to watch the flames live from the Palisades and Malibu on the other side of Los Angeles. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine they would be battling blazes of their own.
  • Brian and Pamela Huges sit down in their long-term rental with visual information specialist Marti Allen from the Louisville, KY district to discuss what happened leading up to and following the Southern California wildfires. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.

    ‘Evacuate Now!’: USACE assists survivors after Southern California wildfires

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing debris removal for thousands of properties destroyed during Southern California’s Palisades and Eaton fires Jan. 7.

  • April

    Two people in vests and hardhats observe a debris removal operations site

    Contracting enables speed, precision in USACE’s wildfires recovery effort

    Contracting is a critical capability that ensured recovery operations from the outset of the Southern California wildfires recovery mission moved with speed, efficiency and precision.

  • March

    Leaders, organizers and presenters from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District team pose for photos before presentations begin at the Iron King Mine Project Industry Day Jan. 28 at Gateway Community College in Phoenix. (Photo by Robert DeDeaux, USACE PAO)

    LA District hosts Iron King Mine Project Industry Day

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Mega Projects Division hosted the Iron King Mine Project Industry Day Jan. 28 at Gateway Community College.
  • Detailed terrain data of a neighborhood affected by the Southern California wildfires

    Optimizing the LA wildfire debris removal mission: USACE leverages expertise across academia, industry, military logistics

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leveraging the expertise of industry, academia, the military and other government agencies to ensure the Southern California wildfires response is carried out swiftly and with best practices.

  • February

    Dam safety specialists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pose for a photo during a multi-district dam safety awareness event Jan. 27-30 at the Los Angeles District’s Arizona area office in midtown Phoenix. Approximately 33 dam safety experts and stakeholders from various districts and divisions met in person to enhance collaboration among dam safety professionals. (Photo by Robert DeDeaux, USACE Los Angeles District Public Affairs)

    South Pacific Division leads dam safety collaboration

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division’s Dam Safety Production Center conducted a multi-district dam safety awareness event Jan. 27-30 at the Los Angeles District’s Arizona area office in midtown Phoenix.

  • September

    Representatives with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District and USACE’s South Pacific Division pose for a photo during the Painted Rock Dam tabletop exercise Sept. 18 at the Yuma Public Works Department in Yuma, Arizona. During the exercise, several small groups reviewed and practiced specific functions relevant to their agencies or organizations. The exercise is designed to review, practice and assess federal and nonfederal partners’ response to emergency disasters to and around Painted Rock Dam.

    Yuma hosts Painted Rock Dam Tabletop Exercise

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Dam Safety Program and the Emergency Management team conducted a tabletop exercise Sept. 18 at the Yuma Public Works Department in Yuma.
  • Mila Besich, mayor of the City of Superior, left, and Col. Andrew Baker, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District commander, right, sign a project partnership agreement under the Section 595 Program Sept. 16 in Phoenix. Projects under the 595 Program may include wastewater treatment and related facilities, water supply and related facilities, environmental restoration, and surface water resource protection and development. USACE can engage in design, construction or both for projects under this program.

    Section 595 signing in Arizona

    The mayors of Superior and Douglas, Arizona, along with a representative from Congressman Greg Stanton’s office, met with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ officials Sept. 16 in Phoenix to sign project partnership agreements for environmental infrastructure projects in the two cities.

  • August

    Military leaders pose for a photo following the new South Wilmot Gate project groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 23 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The $15 million project will include a vehicle inspection facility and updated security measures, while easing traffic flow in and out of the installation.

    USACE, 355th partners break ground on new security entrance at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

    Senior leaders with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base broke ground on the new South Wilmot Gate project during an Aug. 23 ceremony at the air base near Tucson, Arizona.

  • July

    PANACA, Nev. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District safety and emergency management experts join the Nevada State Park Rangers, the Lincoln County Fire Department, along with other federal and nonfederal agencies, to pose for a photo along the top of Matthews Canyon Dam, following an emergency training exercise June 25 in Lincoln County, Nevada. The LA District Emergency Management Team conducted the training event with the support of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the Lincoln County commissioner.

    Small town trains for big disasters

    The Los Angeles District Emergency Management team conducted an emergency tabletop training exercise June 25 at Panaca Fire Station in Lincoln County, Nevada, to sharpen the emergency response and coordination skills for local, state and federal agencies.

  • April

    Jason Russell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District project engineer, expresses the LA District's support for American troops during a media interview April 9 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. LA District and Yuma Proving Ground military leaders celebrated the official completion of a facility for the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the same day at the installation.

    Leaders celebrate hangar completion at Yuma Proving Ground

    The U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s primary mission is to test the nation’s military ground combat equipment; however, for nearly 30 years, its vast desert ranges also have been used by the Military Freefall School to train thousands of the military’s most elite paratroopers.

  • March

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineer South Pacific Division Readiness and Contingency Operations representatives and Emergency Branch managers pose for a photo following the first day of the Continuity of Operations training exercise March 11 at the LA District’s area office in Phoenix. The Los Angeles District Emergency Management team hosted the training event with the support of the Sacramento and Albuquerque districts.

    LA District Conducts COOP Training in Phoenix

    The Los Angeles District Emergency Management team conducted the Continuity of Operations, or COOP, training exercise March 11-12 at the district’s area office in Phoenix.