EPA crews work to remove hazardous waste from the Eaton Fire burn zone

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Clean-up crews, utility workers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are entering the Eaton Fire burn zone to set the foundation for the rebuilding process.

Before rebuilding can happen, however, tons of debris must be removed - some of which may be toxic.

EPA crews are going home by home, meticulously digging through what's left of properties to remove anything that could threaten the safety of those returning to their homes. As outlined by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, this is the first phase in the process of getting people back to their properties.

"It's tedious work. You gotta do it by hand and wear a full suit and respirator," said Harry Allen, U.S. EPA on-scene coordinator.

According to Allen, these hazardous materials include items like paint, pesticides, and lithium-ion batteries. Toys, vape pens, e-bikes and electric vehicles also have batteries that could be dangerous.

Some of these items are small and hard to detect, but Allen said the crews are trained to find them.

"They're trained to look pretty closely, so they'll look for the different shapes," said Allen. "We have a little battery school over at our staging area. We show people different kinds of batteries to look at and look for before they come out."

Hazardous materials will be taken to staging sites, like the one in Lario Park, if it withstands the scrutiny of locals. Residents of the cities that neighbor the park - Duarte, Azusa, Irwindale and Baldwin Park - are pushing back on the plan.

With more than 10,000 structures burned in the Eaton Fire, clearing each one would normally take months.

"In this case, we've been given a directive to do it extra fast. So, we're expending the money to get the resources here to build very large teams - as many as a thousand contractors doing this work. So, we'll have dozens of teams," said Allen.

Right now, there's only a handful of teams within Altadena. However, according to Allen, within two weeks, hundreds of workers should arrive here and get the job done so people can return and start clearing the rest of the debris.