According to the LA Times, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed the first phase of debris removal in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades burn zones following last month's devastating fires in Los Angeles. This is an important though contested step in the recovery process following the destruction of nearly 12,000 homes and structures and is being coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.They still have to account for 4,400 structures (or 33%) of the assigned cleanup of the Palisades, to which the newspaper notes: "remaining properties that were not cleared by the EPA mostly have structural issues that made it unsafe for crews to enter and search for hazardous waste by hand."Cranes and other heavy equipment can be moved in to remove heavy debris. The entire process, according to Army Col. Eric Swenson, will entail 18 months of removals to sites in Malibu and Irwindale.