The city of Tustin is worried about its financial solvency after spending more than half its annual budget to respond to a fire at a historic WWII hangar in early November.
The fire on November 7 created concerns about the dangerous chemicals such as asbestos found in the debris that reached an average radius of 3 miles around the hangar site, according to online debris reports.
At a city council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Austin Lumbard said the city has spent more than $50 million to clean up a disaster that occurred on US Navy property with very little help from the military branch and essentially no help from the governor.
Deniz Erkan owns a home in Columbus Square, a community directly across the street from the hangar located on a former Marine base. He, like other surrounding homeowners, has been impacted by the blaze.
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“I've got $6,500 worth of receipts here, right here; air cleaners, purifiers, etc., and I still can't open my windows because the window sills and the screens need to be cleaned and replaced,” Erkan told NBC4.
He said he spent more than $2,000 to test his home for toxic chemicals like asbestos and nearly $3,000 to move his wife and two small children to an Airbnb for a week.
“One of my neighbors got an estimate for $40,000 for her home to be remediated, and I said, ‘Whoa, I can't afford that,’” Erkan said.
“I was at an Airbnb for a month. I'm pushing probably $12,000 that I've spent on all of this,” another homeowner and HOA representative said. He added that his mom lives in the senior community in Columbus Square and hasn’t been able to turn their heat on for fear of toxic chemicals in the filters.
The HOA also allowed the community to form a committee in response to the fire. Susan Keefe is one of the committee members and said nearly all the homeowners have paid out of pocket to relocate and test their homes -- that is if they could afford the expenses. She adds that very few are receiving help from their homeowner’s insurance.
Troy Eichenaur’s house is on the main road across from the north hangar. He said his wife and daughter fell ill with a bad cough when the hangar burned.
“Luckily, our insurances moved us out to an Airbnb where we're safe, so we could hopefully recover and get better,” Eichenaur said. “They actually have a procedure 5 clean up on our house right now.”
As NBC4 met with homeowners Wednesday afternoon, at least three vans of city contractors in full hazmat suits were seen walking in lines to pick up leaves and mulch in the bushes around the center of the community.
“They're here in our community, quite often picking up visual debris,” Keefe said. “We kind of take a little bit of offense to the word cleaning because this isn't cleaning, this is debris collection. Cleaning would be addressing the toxic dust. Cleaning would be going into people's attics, gutters, balcony.”
In Tustin’s first council meeting of the year, which was held Tuesday, Mayor Lumbard assured residents there is “no airborne contaminant threat to the community.” But money remained a big concern. He stated the city’s operating budget is typically $95 million and so far, has spent $54 million in response to the fire.
“The Navy has provided $11 million, that's a $43 million gap right now that we're looking for help with,” Lumbard said, adding that $7.8 million came from their discretionary reserve funds, “The maximum amount we could under our policy to pay for this,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Navy told NBC4 on Dec. 19: “Contracting for the Tustin emergency response and clean-up is ongoing. The Navy understands that additional funds will be required, and we are committed to working with the city to finish the job.”
When asked for an update on any additional funding Wednesday, a spokesperson said they would send a statement.
“The property is owned by the Navy, the hangar is owned by the Navy, and the federal government should be paying for this,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said. “We shouldn't be having to beg for the money to be reimbursed.”
Orange County Supervisors and Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris wrote letters to Gov. Gavin Newsom in December, asking him to declare a state of emergency for Tustin. That would allow the city to access federal emergency funding and hopefully, reimburse the city and residents for expenses.
Mayor Lumbard said they’ve been asking since November, but no one has heard back from the governor.
“If you look back at the 10 freeway a few months ago that went on fire, that's a … federal piece of infrastructure and an emergency declaration was immediately made,” Tustin City Councilmember Ray Schnell said at the meeting. “We’re getting zero response, which is very frustrating.”
A representative from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services released a statement saying the state is "committed to providing meaningful assistance to communities impacted by disasters."
"Cal OES staff have been on the ground in Orange County since the hours immediately following the fire to support local first responders and provide technical assistance," the statement said.
State law dictates that local governments must demonstrate that a disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the county or city and that state aid is necessary. Cal OES personnel continue to work closely on the ground with local officials to perform damage assessments and determine if that criteria has been met.
Separately, if gaps remain beyond the assistance available through the state to individuals. The state will work closely with local officials to identify other possible options for aid either public or through local philanthropic or community based org organizations."
Lumbard said Cal OES was initially on site when the fire occurred, but they have not heard anything in regards to an emergency order.
Keefe added that even though the city has spent $54 million, none of it has gone to reimburse homeowners for the expenses they’ve incurred or even remediating those who’ve had their homes tested and found asbestos.
Lumbard has asked the city manager to look into alternative funding options so that the city can remain solvent.
