Items Tagged with 'wildfire'

From a young age, Col. Eric R. Swenson found himself drawn to construction and earthmoving equipment,“so much so that as a child I once lost my parents on a family bike ride after stopping to watch the Army Corps of Engineers dredging operations in Ocean City, N.J.,” Swenson says.

Like other residents of Altadena, Calif., MATT Construction Senior Project Manager Nick Pemberton didn’t know that the days after Jan. 7, 2025 would irrevocably change his and his neighbors’ lives.

Architecture firm spearheads effort to find existing homes to relocate to neighborhoods devastated by wildfires.

Public works departments and the design and construction firms that work for them already see fallout from the suspension of FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

ENR's cover story on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ mission to clean up devastating damage sustained by Los Angeles County during the Eaton and Palisades fires this year continues a long history of reporting on agency activities.

Six months after several devastating wildfires swept through Los Angeles County, debris removal has entered the homestretch while businesses, utilities and homeowners take the first steps toward rebuilding.

LA agencies are turning their attention toward rebuilding and easing the process for survivors, as AECOM is set to lead planning efforts under an expanded contract.

Pestrella has spent his entire 38-year career at LA County Public Works, making his way up from field hydrologist to director.

Senior PM Nick Pemberton of MATT Construction, with neighbors and colleagues, used borrowed and donated equipment to quickly move pool water to where it was critically needed as the Eaton blaze spread to his Altadena, Calif., neighborhood.

Public Works Director Mark Pestrella discusses how crews have begun removing toxins, cleaning up damage and replacing basic utilities in fire-damaged areas in California.