The Los Angeles County Coordinated Joint Information Center is making a last effort to urge property owners in the wildfire burn areas to fill out Right of Entry forms, which will enable debris removal, by a March 31 deadline.

Property owners who do not fill out the opt-in or opt-out form will still be responsible for cleaning up their properties by June 30, 2025, said Christopher Sheppard, principal engineer for L.A. County Public Works, and a representative of the L.A. County Debris Regional Task Force.

Those who do not clean up their properties at all may be liable for the cost of the government debris removal later in the year.

“All property owners will be required to clean up their properties, so we need all property owners to make a selection, whether it’s to opt in or opt out,” Sheppard said. “You can always withdraw [the ROE form] at a later date if you choose. We encourage everyone: if you’re unsure, just opt in.”

• Also see: Adam Schiff, Judy Chu tour cleanup effort in Altadena, with hopes for continued federal support

Sheppard said out of 12,100 eligible parcels, the county has had 9,756 responses from those who have opted in, and 1,022 from whom have opted out.

By opting in, property owners enable U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teams to enter a property and clean up its ash and debris, preparing for it for the property owner’s rebuild.

The main issues that have deterred people from filling out the form are over insurance concerns, according to Sheppard.

Because the Army Corps will not be removing hard scapes such as driveways, patios, or specialty features like spas and pools, those removal processes must be contracted out.

Insurance debris removal can cover these costs depending on individual eligibility, Sheppard said. He added that some people have delayed opting in or out because they are considering contracting out the entire cleanup process, as opposed to using both the government program and then a contractor later.

Sheppard said there “will be an effort to clean up all properties,” and the Army Corps is estimated to complete all debris removal by Jan. 20, 2026.

Already, Sheppard estimated about 490 sites have been cleaned up by Army Corps across both burn areas.

Opting out of the process entails filling out a form online, after which people will have to obtain a permit from the county’s EPIC-LA system.

This permit allows home and business owners as well as their authorized private contractors to manage their own debris removal while ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal safety and environmental standards.

Whatever process people are considering for cleanup, they must opt-in or opt-out of the program. The opt-in process may take time to complete but the only step required for either decision by March 31 is to submit the form to begin the process, according to Sheppard.

While program eligibility is still being determined for commercial and industrial properties, condos, town houses, and mobile home parks, these groups are still encouraged to submit a ROE application to potentially be considered for inclusion in the program.

Owners who opt-in but later wish to withdraw from the process can do so when the army corps calls to notify that they will be coming by, or earlier than that by filling out the form online, which some have done already.

Sheppard said his recommendation is to take advantage of the government debris removal program wherever possible.

“It’s a solid program. It removes all the material. There’s no direct cost to the homeowners. You ensure that it’s done absolutely correctly.”

Property owners opting into the government debris removal program can submit the Right of Entry form here. Those opting out can submit an opt-out form here. All forms and information about the process are available online at https://recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/.