Their homes survived the fire. Will cleanup plans pose new danger?

After the Eaton fire tore through Altadena, a widely shared belief emerged that the town’s 115-year-old golf course protected most of the homes around it because the flames couldn’t cross the open space. Many residents considered themselves lucky — their homes would need to be cleared of smoke and ash before they could return, but their neighborhood was still standing.

The momentary relief soon gave way to a new fear when the county announced that the space that likely helped save their homes would become a dumping ground for debris and the headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ concrete crushing and recycling operation. Residents have been told that the work is safe. But they have seen no evidence to back that claim and wonder if the push for a speedy cleanup could pose new danger.

“We desperately need to go home for us to be a family again. We were really looking forward to it and we would be going home if it wasn’t for this golf course,” said Tiprin Follett, 46. “We are just totally and utterly trapped in some kind of dangerous situation with no help.”

Follett lives on Hill Avenue, less than 50 feet away from the Altadena Golf Course boundary and within 300 yards of the cleanup operation. Her family, like many others, remains displaced, but had planned to return soon, once their home has been cleaned.

She and other residents sounding the alarm have been clear: They don’t believe the work should be offloaded to an area that could affect a new crop of residents, nor do they want cleanup in Altadena to slow as calls to rebuild and return continue to grow. But amid warnings from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that residents keep a safe distance from burn zones and ongoing uncertainty over what toxins remain in the soil, they have questioned the decision to handle burned materials in the middle of a neighborhood that was largely unscathed by the fire.

They have asked repeatedly for assurances and proof that they won’t face new long-term health risks when they return and have raised concerns over noise pollution and truck traffic.

The public golf course dates back to the early 1900s. It belongs to Los Angeles County and was leased to the Army Corps, which will start using 12 acres of it on March 31 to process and recycle clean concrete, metals and plant materials — including burned trees — from properties affected by the fire. The Army Corps says the recycling operation is expected to take roughly 10 months and would keep the materials out of landfills.

The EPA has already processed household hazardous materials there. That work will continue on a smaller scale. Similar work at Lario Park in Duarte and Farnsworth Park in Altadena has finished and will not be used by the Army Corps, the agency said.

Col. Sonny Avichal, commander of the Army Corps field operations for the cleanup, recently told residents that three air monitoring systems will be on site and that crews will have personal air monitors.

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“We’re doing everything in our power to make sure that this operation runs safely for the public,” he said during a town council meeting.

The operation will take place seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ash, contaminated soil and asbestos-containing materials will be prohibited from the area, the agency said, and air quality data will be provided to public health agencies on a “one-day lag.” Water trucks and misting systems will be used to suppress dust, and equipment will be fitted with noise-reducing mufflers.

George Gund isn’t confident that the efforts are enough to contain the toxins.

“The irony is this notion that the dust is going to be mitigated and it won’t travel and disperse,” Gund, 52, said as a westerly breeze picked up. “A wind event is kind of what caused this disaster in the first place.”

Gund has lived in the area for much of his life and believes that it’s likely another wind event could take place while the debris cleanup is occurring. He lives on Sonoma Drive in his grandparents’ old house, where he and his wife married on the back porch and where they are raising their children. Gund can see the Altadena Golf Course from his front yard. He doesn’t know what to do once his home has been cleared for return — insurance won’t cover him to stay away longer — but he worries it won’t be safe to go back.

His neighbor, John Newell, 65, shares the sentiment.

“In the absence of information, I’m going to assume that it’s bad,” Newell said.

L.A. County residents have also pushed back against the county’s planned landfill destinations. Last month, for example, dozens of people gathered outside the Calabasas Landfill in Agoura Hills to protest plans to dump thousands of tons of debris each day and local leaders asked county, state and federal officials to redirect the waste to low-population areas outside the state.

Equipment is staged at the Altadena Golf Course in preparation for debris removal.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Residents have taken issue with video and maps of the operation, believing they don’t capture the fact that houses are still standing in this specific neighborhood. The Army Corps said that the operation “will be closely monitored and follow safety measures,” but did not provide data around its safety arguments when The Times inquired.

On Sunday, dozens of residents gathered at the front entrance of the golf course to protest its fate, and call for answers.

“I want to play outside without wearing a mask,” a child’s sign read.

“Our homes are toxic. Where is public health?” another sign read.

Zoe Gibson, 16, said the displacement has been difficult. Her family lives south of the golf course on Morada Place and left in a whirlwind. No matter how much she tries to get organized while being evacuated, she said that life remains chaotic.

Her father, Grant Gibson, said that his family won’t return to the area until the work is done.

“Our ability to return is dependent on whatever they’re doing here,” Gibson, 50, said. “There are oodles of options, but they went for the fast and easy one of doing this in the middle of a residential neighborhood and hoping it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Not everyone takes issue with the plans. Jill Hawkins has lived in Altadena for nearly 30 years. She moved back to her home on Mendocino Street, across the street from the golf course, after her backyard caught fire. Although she supports her neighbors’ right to demonstrate, she believes the area needs to get cleaned up and doesn’t see an alternative solution.

“I’m anxious to see this community rebuild, and the best way to do that is to get these lots cleared off,” Hawkins, 70, said. “If not here, where would they have it be done?”

On a recent afternoon, Follett surveyed the golf course from outside the chain-link fence across from her home. She previously took a tour of the area to see where the cleanup would occur. Construction trucks were parked inside, and flags had been planted in the ground to establish a parameter for the work. Her 1-year-old granddaughter slept in her arms. How will the plans affect the children? Follett wondered.

“No one is listening,” she said about her pleas for information. “It’s tiring being the squeaky wheel.”