2019 January
More Rain | Mudslide prevention |
Resilience of Nature | HAZMAT-Inspection
To-Do List
Analyzing damage
Getting clear on Insurance
Navigate Recovery
Mudslide prevention
Moving mud around
Water
Still not done
Debris Removal
HAZMAT- updates
Electricity
Water / Well
HAZMAT – Inspection
Hazardous Materials/Waste Inspection Form – Phase 1
Getting HAZMAT inspection done is one big step forward to getting the debris removed. The County mentioned within 3 months, all properties should be cleared.
Our Hazmat was finally done, but they marked on the yellow sheet hung on our gate that somewhere on our property, they found “asbestos,” although they didn’t tell us where. After hours on the phone with various officials, we got this useful hint: “Everything marked red could be asbestos…. or not.” Feeling a little like Alice in Wonderland, we found the marked piece, but it was on tar paper underlying stucco we put up a few years ago and were, therefore, pretty certain this was not asbestos. When we tried to explain that to the Debris Removal officials, we were told that if we wanted to, we could get the material marked red and send it to a lab on our own. Or we could just wait for the second phase of the Debris Removal process to occur at some unknown date in the future. We ended up waiting. The rest of the to-do list was still very long.
Nature is coming back
A ray of hope through the bleak days of the past couple months. Every day at the property, it is getting a little bit exciting to see nature coming back, especially all the fire damaged oak trees lighten the days with new leaves.
Mud Slide Prevention
2019 is here. Let’s start the first day of the year with a proper and better mudslide prevention strategy!
The one we did in a rush on November 28th was hardly sufficient. Now after we removed the mud, we could start again.
Moving again
In the meantime, we are getting ready to move out of the home of our incredibly generous friends, where we have been staying since returning to Malibu after the fire. It looks like we will move in with Diane’s mom. The rental market has been very thin since the fire. Clearly our estimate that $5k a month would be more than enough to live decently enough, when we established our loss of use coverage with insurance was not even close. Especially not with two dogs. Fortunately, our insurance is being flexible, and it looks like we can put funds toward a tiny house for our son. In the meantime, we will live in close but loving quarters with our generous mother/grandmother. It will be another big change. But Diane’s mother’s joy about it helps ease the whiplash feeling of continued lifestyle disruption and downsizing.
Getting Water
No electricity, no well pump = no water.
Getting electricity on the property was not going to be an option before debris removal, as was explained by the building department, unless we got a bit, expensive generator. The small one we got would not suffice for our well pump, which we found out after we tried and tried without luck to get our well pump running. Maybe the well pump was damaged? What we knew for sure was that we had to mix concrete to repair a retaining wall and post better silt fencing before the next storm or risk big parts of our property sliding into Mulholland Hwy! What to do? Luckily, our neighbor has a big “gas powered” pump and plenty of water, so we were able to get some water from him. Thank you, neighbor!!
Solar PV
We are also very lucky that our wonderful friends Tosho and Tom told us they are going to donate some solar pv panels for our energy needs, helping us in our mission to not to use fossil fuels, if possible!