Tustin feels abandoned.
That was the vibe from the scores of residents that turned out to the first regular city council meeting held since one of the town’s two wooden historic Navy hangars that locals used to marvel at went up in flames on abandoned federal property, spewing down toxic debris on their newly developed homes right across the street.
All while Gov. Gavin Newsom visited LA for the 10 freeway fire, but hasn’t acknowledged Tustin’s environmental nightmare.
Newsom also hasn’t declared Tustin’s hangar site a disaster, which would kick in the massive resources so clearly needed.
Tustin’s two state legislators – Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris and Senator Dave Min – also haven’t been able to get the governor to act over the course of two weeks.
Congressional leaders – Congressman Lou Correa and Congresswoman Michelle Steel – send out press releases calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help monitor air quality, but can’t get the agency to authorize city officials to get asbestos remediation contractors into neighborhoods immediately.
On Tuesday night, Tustin City Councilwoman Leticia Clark even noted local officials have unsuccessfully reached out directly to President Joe Biden.
Instead, Tustin residents have watched street medians and local parks get cleaned of asbestos before their own neighborhoods and homes.
They have regional air quality agencies and the EPA telling them the air is ok, but they also hear warnings from public health officials to wear masks outside and avoid using air conditioning in their homes.
On Tuesday night, residents vented their frustrations, noting that city and county leaders seem overwhelmed – grappling with the fallout of the hangar fire on federal land, while also trying to clean up asbestos and other toxic materials.
Hangar Fire Update
Orange County Fire Authority officials on Tuesday night for the first time explained in more detail to the public the unique and dual nature of the disaster unfolding.
They face a massive, 17-story wooden building with no sprinklers or stairs with virtually no ability to get water on flames – forcing them to have to let it burn, while simultaneously triggering a toxic fallout as the ashes spread all kinds of metals and other materials to nearby neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, OCFA officials confirmed that within six minutes they knew they were overwhelmed by the fire.
They said they also face a huge challenge trying to quickly initiate asbestos clean up – something that usually takes months.
Yet OCFA officials didn’t publicly address whether state resources played any role in fire response..
They also didn’t address why they failed to immediately warn nearby neighbors of their midnight decision to allow the structure to burn and thus the fallout of toxic materials in homes by the time residents awoke the next morning.
Public communication isn’t the agency’s strong suit.
Much less any public questioning.
And information slowly trickles out of government agencies.
Consider that in the midst of this disaster, I had a phone message from a Coast Guard public information officer who just got back to me telling me that my federal Freedom of Information Act request seeking meeting minutes from the 2021 oil spill disaster incident command had just reached his desk in Long Beach.
Two years after I asked for meeting minutes to understand how disaster decisions are made – rather than just depending on official pronouncements.
For example, while officials on Tuesday night kept crediting each other with great inter-agency coordination, there’s evidence to suggest that it hasn’t been so easy.
Note that most of these public agencies knew the challenges of the decaying structures over the past decade – with recent grand jury reports pointing out the dangers of the hangars.
Yet it’s clear now that those warnings were ignored.
Officials that residents are supposed to depend upon clearly weren’t prepared.
[Read: Tustin Hangar Fell Apart Amidst Decades of Inaction From Leaders]
Consider the issue of a simple disaster declaration.
Both the City of Tustin and County of Orange adopted local disaster declarations that called on state leaders to take similar action.
Yet it never happened.
And it seems there’s been a lax follow up.
Earlier this week, I was told by state disaster officials that OC leaders just hadn’t formally asked the governor for help. Yet just after publication, county leaders showed me a declaration that specifically called for a state declaration.
[Read: Santana: Could a State Disaster Declaration Help Tustin Neighborhoods Battle Asbestos?]
On Tuesday night, Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard said the same from the dais.
They’ve asked.
There’s been no reply.
“Our request is currently in the cue with the state and we’re waiting on that,” Lumbard publicly told residents Tuesday night after the end of the public comment period, which ran on for more than an hour and a half, with Lumbard saying he counted 50 speakers.
After the meeting, Lumbard – a Republican mayor who leads one of OC’s most diverse city councils – told me in an interview that he’s trying to get on the governor’s radar.
“I don’t have the leverage at the governors’ office that (Democratic LA Mayor) Karen Bass does,” Lumbard said.
“I called the people I could,” he said referring to Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris, adding “I don’t have [Newsom’s] cell phone number.”
Lumbard did say that Petrie-Norris had been present at the 10 a.m. phone conferences that officials conduct on the disaster – calls the press and public can’t hear, which is sad.
Residents Voice Concerns
While officials wait, and hold onto information, residents are getting sick, tired and frustrated.
That’s what they repeatedly said on Tuesday night.
Their first message to elected officials was to stop minimizing their concerns.
They can’t use their homes.
Many want an evacuation order.
The city hotline is useless. The message there is to check the city website.
High school kids from nearby schools like Legacy may need mental health counseling, help with schoolwork and college applications, some residents said.
City council members on Tuesday night – several who live in impacted neighborhoods – echoed all of the resident concerns and thanked them for coming out to speak, noting that kind of engagement allows for adjustment.
Mayor Lumbard, who has consistently and calmly taken press calls since the start, also took time to credit residents for their calm and civil manner in expressing their serious concerns, fears and frustrations.
Lumbard himself lives in one of the most affected areas and has five young kids, with four attending multiple nearby schools.
Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $7.8 million from their general fund – basically every spare dollar they have – to get resources into neighborhoods. Officials said they’re in the midst of seeking reimbursement.
Lumbard later told me the big hold up in getting asbestos contractors into neighborhoods has been EPA approval for private areas.
“That’s been a bureaucratic delay,” Lumbard said, adding, “I’m very frustrated.”
“I think it’s sad that it’s taken two weeks to pick up debris from someone’s front step,” he said.
During Tuesday’s meeting, City Councilman Ryan Gallagher said the $7.8 million is a “proactive” approach as officials are “charging forward and letting the system catch up.”
Clark noted “this is us prioritizing public health using whatever funds we have.”
After the meeting, Lumbard told me the spending was to immediately fund 200 certified asbestos personnel on the streets cleaning up debris.
“All those folks need to get paid,” Lumbard said.
“Other than the $1 million, we haven’t gotten additional funding,” Lumbard said, referring to a Navy commitment that came earlier this month after the city met in emergency session.
“We’re filling the void here where others aren’t willing to act. We’re not waiting. Government is moving too slow.”
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