Authorities have been at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores in San Luis Obispo County this week, scanning the ground for any signs of human decomposition. Their results have been "positive," meaning remains have been detected, but that's it so far, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Friday.
The patchwork efforts to identify and safely remove contamination left by the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires has been akin to the Wild West. Experts have given conflicting guidance on best practices. Shortly after the fires, the federal government suddenly refused to adhere to California's decades-old post-fire soil-testing policy; California later considered following suit. Meanwhile, insurance companies have resisted remediation practices widely recommended by scientists for still-standing homes.
One year ago, Nancy Ward, then the director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency to spearhead the cleanup of toxic ash and fire debris cloaking more than 12,000 homes across Los Angeles County. Although Ward's decision ensured the federal government would assume the bulk of disaster costs, it came with a major trade off.
No matter the type of farm, there's an advantage to planting soil-feeding cover crops ahead of fall and winter. The assistance provided depends on the crops you plant. But there is definitely one out there to help you accomplish your desired soil conditions. Whether it's soil tilth, an increase in nitrogen, or phosphorus availability, a cover crop's purpose is to improve and enrich the foundation of your farm.
In the Eaton burn scar, around 27% of soil samples still had lead levels above California's state standards for residential properties, indicating ongoing contamination risks.