LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — State officials said nearly 30% of the properties in Lake County whose owners enrolled in California's statewide Consolidated Debris Removal Program following last year's Cache fire have cleared the entire debris removal process and been returned to county officials to begin the permitting process for reconstruction.

The 24 properties returned to county officials represent 29.6% of the 81 properties in the county that are enrolled in either the full debris removal program or the hazardous trees only element of the program.

Of the 81 properties, 78 are participating in the full debris removal program. The remaining three properties are participating in the program's hazardous trees only element.

Under the program, administered by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, and the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, in collaboration with county officials, participating property owners incur no direct costs.

To date, state debris officials have returned 246, or 11.9%, of 2,067 properties statewide participating in the full or hazardous trees only element of the program to their respective county to begin the permitting process.

To date, state-managed crews have completed the removal of burned metal, concrete, ash, and contaminated soil generated by the 2021 wildfires from 1,243, or 72.1% of the 1,724 properties enrolled in the full debris removal program.

Earlier this month, crews finished clearing eligible wildfire debris from all 78 properties in the county participating in the full debris removal program.

Crews also finished removing eligible debris from all 19 properties in Mendocino County whose owners opted into the full debris removal program after the Hopkins fire.

Wildfire survivors had the option to either use their own contractor or enroll in the state-managed program.

Of the properties with damage from the 2021 fires, 1,724 signed up to have the remains of their homes and other structures cleared by the state.

Another 343 property owners chose to participate in the hazardous trees only element of the program.