Video

Video by Marti Allen

Survivor Stories of Recovery: Hovel Babikian's road to rebuilding following the Eaton Fire in Southern California

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District

April 12, 2025 | 0:44

Hovel Babikian, Eaton Fire survivor and city of Altadena, California, resident, discusses the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris mission and the path forward.

USACE is actively working in partnership with Los Angeles County, CAL OES, FEMA and other partners to support the Southern California wildfire recovery efforts. They currently have more than 450 personnel on site and around 2,800 contractors actively supporting our local, state and FEMA partners to support survivors impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires Jan. 7, 2025. This includes engineers, debris removal crews, safety officers, quality assurance specialists and more from across the nation. Additionally, there are more than 200 crews working 12-hour days, seven days a week for the express purpose of removing debris to mitigate risk to public health, protecting the environment and speeding community recovery.