Tara Fitzgerald of the E.P.A. struggled to get her words her above the crowd’s yells and catcalls at a townhall on Jan. 29, 2025, where residents were venting concerns over a decision to place a hazardous materials collection site at a park in the Duarte/Azusa area.(Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Additional members of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department arrive at a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025, where residents were venting concerns over a decision to place a hazardous materials collection site at a park in the Duarte/Azusa area. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
U.S. Rep. Gilbert Cisneros, D-31, tells the crowd that he wants answers as well, during a townhall meeting, Jan. 29, 2025, to address the EPA’s decision on an Eaton fire hazardous materials collection site in the San Gabriel Valley. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Yana Garcia, secretary for environmental protection, shares some thoughts as Eli Owen of Cal OES listens, during a town hall meeting, Jan. 29, 2025, to address the EPA’s decision on an Eaton fire hazardous materials collection site in the San Gabriel Valley. (Photo by Jarret Liotta) (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
A woman is removed from the hall by a sheriff after screaming at U.S. Rep. Gilbert Cisneros that he was a liar, during a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025, on the EPA’s decision to move Eaton fire materials to a site near Duarte and Azusa. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Officials face a cold reception on Eaton fire debris cleanup during a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Sabina Muend of Duerte brought her “Don’t Step On Snek” flag to the event, during a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
With a 650 capacity, the Duarte Performing Arts Center was about at capacity, during a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Local officials ask for answers, during a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025, on the EPA’s decision to move Eaton fire materials to a site near Duarte and Azusa. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
Show Caption1 of 9Tara Fitzgerald of the E.P.A. struggled to get her words her above the crowd’s yells and catcalls at a townhall on Jan. 29, 2025, where residents were venting concerns over a decision to place a hazardous materials collection site at a park in the Duarte/Azusa area.(Photo by Jarret Liotta)
ExpandHundreds of angry area residents filled the Duarte Performing Arts Center on Wednesday night, Jan. 29, anxious to know the roots of the decision to make Lario Park, just east of the Rancho Duarte Golf Course, the processing site for hazardous debris from the Eaton fire.
Emotions were high among the 600 or so gathered, concerned about health and safety questions posed by the site, and frustrated in the answers they heard. They let it known with yells and catcalls, coupled with more demands for explanation.
In the end, they got an apology from the federal official running the operation for not giving local mayors a heads-up about the site. But it did not appear to be enough for many residents.
Since early in the week, the site, which straddles cities within the area, has become a flashpoint in the process of debris clean-up of the Eaton fire.
Amid the backlash, state Sen. Susan Rubio, D-West Covina, organized the town hall event, which included the four area mayors from Azusa, Baldwin Park, Duarte and Irwindale on the left side of the stage, and five representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and state government agencies on the right.
For residents, the decision suggested that no apparent thought had been given to schools, senior centers and parks that might be in the vicinity of the site. And local city and state leaders were miffed that they weren’t informed about the decision. They had to learn it was happening through news reports, they said.
“I tried really hard to see if we could stop it until we could get our questions answered, but here we are,” Rubio said, calling it a sensitive situation that demanded patience from residents to let officials explain what had happened.
Though the audience patiently listened to Rubio and the four mayors make their statements and express their own frustration with not having been informed about the cleanup, officials were given a short leash from the audience for their statements and explanations.
“All we want to hear is that you’re gonna do something about it!” one person of many shouted out, part of ongoing catcalls and screams from the crowd to give explanations and answer questions.
Federal officials tried to explain that the cleanup is safe, leaning on what they said was a good health and safety record on past debris removal, including the Maui wildfire in 2023 and the Woolsey fire in 2018.
But as the meeting grew more tense, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department brought in several additional personnel.
One of the two officials, Yana Garcia, secretary for environmental protection for the California Environmental Protection Agency, got up halfway through the meeting after repeated jeers and interruptions, and was escorted out the back by a sheriff’s deputy.
Before the event ended, the group — momentarily joined on stage toward the end by Col. Eric Swenson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who is spearheading the cleanup — made a quick exit out the back.
“Shut it down! Shut it down!” crowds of people shouted at points, after a point barely giving the officials time to get out complete sentences.
Rubio said the lack of communication was the primary issue, asking why L.A. County officials had been notified but not local representatives.
“Our sincere apologies for not reaching out to the mayors,” Tara Fitzgerald, on-scene coordinator with the U.S. EPA.
She explained that things were moving quickly, with a cleanup of the area required within 30 days according to regulations. She said several sites were considered, including the Rose Bowl and the Santa Anita Racetrack, but this piece of federal land was deemed the best option.
She said it was not uncommon to move the hazardous material long distances, explaining it would be safely contained.
All told, the Eaton fire, which impacted Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre, destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed at least 17 people when it tore through those cities beginning Jan. 7.
In its wake are piles upon piles of rubble, much of which is potentially hazardous: Such material includes burned-out cars, batteries, paint, cleaners and solvents, oils and pesticides.
Additional members of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department arrive at a town hall on Jan. 29, 2025, where residents were venting concerns over a decision to place a hazardous materials collection site at a park in the Duarte/Azusa area. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)Federal officials have outlined a multi-pronged process for cleaning it up. That process includes the EPA’s removal and collection of the hazardous material, and then, a second process undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which removes the the rest of the material free of charge (Property owners have a choice of opting in on that second process or having a private contractor do the work.)
Many in the crowd on Wednesday questioned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s role in the decision, though it came at the federal level.
On Tuesday, Celeste McCoy, EPA on-scene coordinator, appeared before the Los Angeles County supervisors in the board’s Tuesday meeting. She reported the agency was ordered to expedite opening the site by President Donald Trump, who issued an executive order.
McCoy said the site was selected because it was owned by a federal agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and thus made it easier to come to an agreement. Lario Park is also the closest option and has enough flat land to accommodate the operation.
But the explanation did not stop the Duarte City Council on Tuesday night from officially opposing the site, echoing similar outcry from representatives from surrounding cities.
Nor did attempted answers on Wednesday night in front the large crowd, who along with health and safety questions also had concerns about property values.
“They’re just doing what they want to do … . We’ve got to work on electing new people,” Jack Kldjian of Duarte said after the meeting.
He said the EPA could use NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory property to stage the cleanup instead.
“I will not allow these decisions to go unchallenged,” Baldwin Park Mayor Alejandra Avila said, drawing long, strong applause from the crowd.
She and others repeatedly asked who had made the decision to come to this site, but specifics were not clear.
“I don’t really know what else they have,” said Sabina Muend of Duarte, who carried a large yellow flag to the event that read “No Step on Snek,” mimicking the Gadsden flag which famously has the line “Don’t Tread On Me.”
“Even though it looks like a perfect place to put it, it looks like it’s gonna affect a lot of people,” she said.
Rubio stressed that community concerns should not be construed as this area not being supportive of the communities directly impacted by the Eaton fire.
“We’re trying to be sympathetic to what’s happening in other communities, so we really want you to take that away,” she said, “that we are here to support Altadena and the other areas that were impacted.”
Azusa Mayor Robert Gonzales also extended sympathy to the fire victims, but said an explanation was still needed.
“I’m here to express our city’s extreme frustration and disappointment,” he said. “Like many we first found out and became aware of this through the TV. We were never contacted nor consulted in any form of communication.”
Asked afterward if she felt the event had been productive, Rubio said of the residents, “We didn’t get the appropriate answers we wanted, but they felt heard.”
“At the very least they need to know that their elected leaders … are fighting on their behalf and I think that’s important for the community members to see,” she said.
Outside of the center many people expressed dissatisfaction.
“They didn’t answer any of the questions,” said Tai On of Duarte, who will be joining a number of residents on Friday to begin organizing protests and discussing next steps to be taken to try and stop the operation.
He noted that Fitzgerald had probably been put in a position where she had to meet the hostile crowd with no real answers.
“She’s just a messenger,” he said. “She fell on the sword for the EPA.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.
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