Clearing Fire-Damaged Outbuildings on a Carr Fire Burn Scar Lot

Cleanup is supposed to be over once the flames are out, but the lots in Shasta County, CA hit by the Carr Fire show that the demolition work is only starting. A burned outbuilding is still a teardown, and the breakdown sitting on shasta county house demolition renew grid mag lists the steps in order: assess, wet down, sort, haul, then test the ground. Skipping any step usually sends the crew back to the lot.

What remains standing

Burned sheds and shops often keep their steel posts and roof trusses, but heat has warped them and weakened the welds. Walls look solid and then fold when touched. A crew keeps clear of anything leaning, and a mini excavator with a long reach pulls it over from a safe distance.

Ash and dust

Ash gets wet before it is moved, with a light spray, since dry ash lifts into the wind off the Sacramento River and carries fine particles into everyone's lungs. Crews on burn scar lots near Redding and Shasta Lake wear respirators and keep water on site for the whole job.

Slabs and footings after a fire

A concrete slab that held a fire for hours can spall and crack, with the surface flaking away. Test hammering finds hollow spots. A breaker on a skid steer takes up the damaged sections, and a footing that rings dull is dug out instead of built on. Rebar turned soft by heat does not hold anything and goes to the scrap pile.

Hazardous leftovers

Propane tanks, paint cans, fuel and batteries from the shop are often still inside. They are removed and handled separately from the rubble. Melted aluminium, burned vehicles and fallen power lines near State Route 299 and Whiskeytown Lake lots also change the plan, and utility crews come first when a line is down.

Sorting and hauling

Burned wood, metal and concrete are separated, since metal gets recycled and mixed fire debris is dumped in a controlled way. Loads are tarped because ash blows off an open truck bed on Interstate 5.

Soil and next steps

With the structure gone, the soil under it is looked at. Burned ground sheds water, and bare slopes wash out in the first heavy rain, so erosion control goes down before the winter season starts.