City and County Still Yet to Award Debris Removal Contracts

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 14, 2007 at 1:20 PM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

San Diego City and County still have not awarded contracts to fulfill their promise of free debris removal for fire victims whose homes were destroyed. The County has earmarked $30 million for the pro

San Diego City and County still have not awarded contracts to fulfill their promise of free debris removal for fire victims whose homes were destroyed. The County has earmarked $30 million for the program. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Just over 1,000 properties were burned in unincorporated areas, but so far only 105 people have said they want the service.

Donna Turbyfill, a recovery coordinator, says 200 people showed up to a community meeting in Ramona this week to consider their options.

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Turbyfill : Some people are still so distraught, it is difficult for them to make a decision. But you know the rainy season is coming and certainly nobody wants to leave debris on the ground into the months of January and February and have everything wash into the watershed, so we really do want to get it done quickly.

Turbyhill says the county hopes to complete debris removal by the end of the year.

But some homeowners have cleared their own lots already, fearing that the county program will take too long.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.