cleanup

Almost 8,800 property owners have asked the Army Corps of Engineers to direct the cleanup of burned homes.

Those tests typically had been used to determine whether cleanup crews should remove more than the first 6 inches of topsoil.

So far, the county has announced results only from standing homes, which are not eligible for cleanup from the Army Corps of Engineers; results from land parcels with damaged or destroyed structures are still pending.

The fire recovery estimate includes $1 billion in lost revenue, mostly from property taxes, and $1 billion to cover soil testing, debris removal and beach cleanup and other costs, Davenport said.

That level of risk lent new urgency to the cleanup of L.A.’s fire debris.