Cleanup continues in Palisades, Eaton fire zones. Here's where things stand

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Crews are making progress in cleaning up the Palisades and Eaton fire zones.

In the Palisades burn zone, the first home has cleared two phases of the cleanup process. During Phase 1, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency crews remove hazardous materials from properties burned by the wildfires. Phase 2 consists of removing visible fire debris, such as chimneys, hazardous trees and ash, according to the county.

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it will not conduct soil testing for toxicity from either fire. Instead, the agency will simply remove six inches of topsoil as a precaution.

The EPA has weighed in on the communities' concerns.

"Six inches seems to be enough. We also know that this is not a pristine area, that humans have been here for quite a while," Bill Dunbar of the EPA said. "We could keep digging and digging and digging and continuing to test the soil and continue to find contaminants that might not have been from the wildfire."

Debris removal has also started at Palisades High, which was impacted by the fire. Some ash and debris have also been pushed out from four out of five Pasadena Unified schools.

There are also more questions from residents about how debris will be removed, which comes as opposition grows against temporary hazardous materials sites. Residents have protested how close they are to homes and the effect on health.

"The debris is all sorted on site. We use what we call the wet method. We wet everything down to prevent any ash or dust from getting into the air," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Eric Swenson said. "We also monitor all of our operations using air monitors, both individual, perimeter and sensitive site monitors."

There are also eyes are also on fire recovery efforts.

Texts revealed to the Los Angeles Times show frustration between L.A. County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Horvath addressed the issue Wednesday.

"We agree that the situation could have been handled better, and it needs to be handled better going forward," Horvath said. "People want clear communication, they want clear answers and they want us to coordinate work together and make sure that we are prioritizing their needs."