New Purdue Guidance: Residential Soil Testing and Restoration After a Fire

Purdue University’s July 2026 guidance states that post-fire soil restoration requires professional site assessment, debris and ash removal, and confirmatory sampling before rebuilding. It recommends qualified board-licensed professionals, certified laboratories, decision-unit sampling, and analysis of the 21 Residential Ash Assessment Metals, with additional testing where site conditions warrant.
The guidance states that properties are not safe for rebuilding after initial debris removal or scraping alone, that confirmation sampling is required, and that California’s residential soil lead cleanup goal is 80 mg/kg or background. It identifies physical excavation and removal as the accepted approach for contaminated soil and says bioremediation, phytoremediation, and simple covering have not been validated as substitutes for metals contamination.
Action: Read the Purdue guidance and register for Purdue’s August 17 wildfire-recovery webinar.