With No Government Soil Cleanup Plan, Altadena Faces Recontamination of Neighboring Lots and Standing Homes

California Governor Gavin Newsom pushed back against the Trump administration’s recent executive order aimed at speeding up rebuilding after the Los Angeles wildfire disasters, saying that the real issue slowing recovery is a lack of federal disaster funding, not bureaucratic permits. Newsom’s office posted on X (Twitter) urging the federal government to release additional disaster aid for California following the wildfires. The executive order, titled Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters, directs federal agencies to consider preempting state and local permitting processes to accelerate reconstruction. Newsom and his team argued that local approvals were already progressing and stressed that financial resources are essential for rebuilding efforts rather than further federal intervention on permitting. Meanwhile there is no one in Newsom’s administration publicly addressing the contamination of Altadena and Palisades soil and standing homes. Read the Newsweek’s report here.