With work completed far ahead of schedule, the Army Corps of Engineers has reason to celebrate their response to the Eaton fire in the city of Pasadena.

According to city officials, Army Corps of Engineers has completed 124 of 125 burned structures in its Phase 2 debris removal effort, specifically in Pasdena.

“Only one eligible property remains to be cleared in Pasadena,” Jennifer Paige, director of planning and community development for the city, said on Tuesday, June 24. “And that work is expected to be completed in the upcoming days — well ahead of the January, 2026, mission target date.”

It is unclear if the owner of that property wants Army Corps of Engineers to remove the debris from his partially destroyed garage.

“They don’t do detail … they just demolish everything,” homeowner Peter May said of the Army Corps of Engineers, so when it comes to his garage-workshop, he may choose to handle it himself.

May’s home on Denair Street was not damaged from the Jan. 7 Eaton fire, but his garage was partially destroyed. He said he had hoped to level it but his insurance company categorized it as only partially damaged.

“The insurance company looked at it and said, ‘Well, it’s just two walls,’” he said. According to May, his insurance company has offered him a small settlement that will not allow him to rebuild the structure.

“So I was kind of stuck in the middle … I would rather take the whole thing down and start fresh (but) now we have a contractor and we put in for a permit to do the work, and that’s where we’re at right now,” May said.

“What I’m hoping is they’ll take the debris away,” May said, but Army Corps of Engineers, will not make a decision until the permit process is completed and demolition work that may be executed by the contractor is completed.

“This sounds like a property that would not be eligible,” U.S. Army Col. Eric Swenson, who has led the cleanup operation, said. “Generally, we need 120-feet square of parcel damage, but if the building is still standing and is a rehab or remodel, then we will not get a demo permit.”

But he said the matter hasn’t been decided.

“This can be a bit of a gray area,” Swenson said. “FEMA and the county usually review these and make a determination. We then execute based on decision.”

Whichever direction May decides to take with his property, Swenson expressed pride for the work his team has done.

“It feels very rewarding to have completed this many parcels in less than four-and-a-half months,” he said. “We have cleared nearly every damaged parcel in Pasadena and over 97% in Altadena.”

“This was the fastest fire debris removal mission in modern history. We had thousands of dedicated contractors working 12 hours a day, seven days a week,” Swenson said, with over 140 crews at work in the Eaton fire area.

“We quickly and safely removed millions of tons of debris in record time,” he said. “This will help survivors be able to rebuild faster. That feels really good.”

Swenson gave credit to the different government agencies involved, as well as area residents.

“We also had great support from surrounding communities and various landfills and recycling centers that helped receive materials seven days a week,” he said.

Asked if any lessons were learned from this experience, Swenson said that there always are some lessons, and they refine their responses going forward.

“This fire recovery reinforced the importance of communication with survivors,” he said. “Early public engagement is also an important lesson.”

Soon, “We will soon start to demobilize our recycling operation at the Altadena Golf Course,” Swenson said. “Then we will return the course to the condition we found it.”

“The corps of engineers will have teammates here for a few more months after the last parcel is cleared, doing final closeout of our operations and closeout paperwork with our colleagues from the county, state, and FEMA,” he said.

Swenson also noted, however, that having had a persistent presence in the Los Angeles area for over 100 years, ACE will continue to support the community in various ways, including flood risk management.

“The City of Pasadena is deeply appreciative to the United States Army Corps of Engineers for their swift, effective, and compassionate work carrying out Phase 2 of the debris removal effort,” Paige said.

“The near-completion of Phase 2 marks a significant milestone in the City’s recovery as the community continues to heal and rebuild,” she said.

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.