It was announced this week that the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works will soon undertake the landscaping of the fill slopes that have been constructed at Dunsmuir Sediment Placement Site after the 2009 Station Fire.

The Station Fire burned over 160,000 acres including the watersheds of numerous debris protection facilities in the region. Large volumes of sediment runoff from the burned hillsides had to be cleaned out of the facilities and placed in Dunsmuir Sediment Placement Site. Community meetings were held periodically from September 2011 to present to develop a concept for landscaping the fill slopes that were formed by the post Fire sediment that was delivered to the site. The concept included native trees, bushes, groundcover, and an irrigation system. Public Works completed detailed design plans for the irrigation system and have issued a Notice to Proceed to its contractor, New Creation Builders, to install it.

The contractor will begin to move into the site within the next two to three weeks, and is scheduled to complete the work by the end of August 2012. The contractor will work Mondays through Fridays, during normal working hours, in compliance with the City of Glendale’s Noise Ordinance.

Taking into account feedback from the 2011 Community Meeting, Public Works is finalizing the detailed planting plans for the landscaping. It is anticipated that a contractor will soon be engaged to start planting in fall 2012/winter 2013. The public will be notified when the Notice to Proceed is issued for the work.

Questions can be directed to Youssef Chebabi, Water Resources Division, at (626) 458-6154 or at vchebabi dpw.lacounty.gov. The 24-hour emergency number is (626) 458-HELP.