Soil Safety After the L.A. Wildfires and Debris Removal: What Have we Learned So Far?
September 13, 2025 (Saturday) from 12:00 to 1:00 pm PST
Due to recent discussions on Pali Strong's StraightTalk, this webinar has been expanded to include additional topics on soils, rebuilding, and fruit and gardens after wildfires.
Join us and learn about the lessons learned from the 2025 Los Angeles (L.A.) Fires Residential Soil Study in response to the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire in California and rebuilding lessons from other wildfires.
The webinar featured field investigation and soil testing lessons learned from past fires and the ongoing L.A. wildfire recovery. An expert on fruit and gardens after wildfire shared knowledge. Perspectives on rebuilding months after the incidents were shared by engineers who helped lead their communities back from fires. A brief presentation and a panel discussion were followed by a question-and-answer session. Experience and science based opinions about safety and protective actions were shared.
Opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations. Some of the described work is also ongoing.
Speakers
- Marc Mattox, P.E., Town Engineer, Town of Paradise, California
- Cameron Folkes, P.E., City Engineer, City of Louisville, Colorado
- Eric Bollens, Chief Technology Officerof LightBox, Resident of Palisades, California
- Jack Webster, P.E., Ph.D., Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chico State University, California
- David Berantou, Research Associate, University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources, California
- Andrew J. Whelton, Ph.D., Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering and Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Purdue University
Contact Details
Andrew Whelton, Ph.D., awhelton@purdue.edu
Video recording posted here. Presentation PDF file here. Additional info PDF file here.