Saturday, May 16, 2026

Altadena Group Becomes Sponsor of Harabedian’s Wildfire Contamination Testing Bill

Assemblymember John Harabedian

The Wildfire Environmental Safety and Testing Act faces its first Assembly committee hearing March 10

An Altadena grassroots group formed after last year’s Eaton Fire has signed on as the official sponsor of state legislation that would set California’s first statewide standards for testing and cleaning fire-contaminated homes, Assemblymember John Harabedian announced Tuesday.

Harabedian (D-Pasadena), who introduced Assembly Bill 1642 in January, said Eaton Fire Residents United joined the bill as sponsor one week before its first committee hearing. The measure, titled the Wildfire Environmental Safety and Testing Act, is scheduled to be heard March 10 in the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.

If enacted, AB 1642 would require the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt emergency regulations by July 1, 2027 specifying how contaminants should be investigated, tested for and removed inside and outside homes, schools and workplaces in residential areas after a wildfire, according to the bill’s text. The regulations would include health-based clearance standards for residents returning to reoccupy their homes.

Eaton Fire Residents United, known as EFRU, is an Altadena-based group formed after the January 7, 2025 Eaton Fire. According to a dataset the group published last year through the research repository Zenodo, EFRU has compiled professionally collected contamination test results from more than 200 homes across Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

The Eaton Fire burned 14,021 acres, destroyed 9,414 structures and damaged 1,074 more, according to Cal Fire. At least 19 people died in the blaze, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s count cited in subsequent reporting.

“Today, I am proud to welcome Eaton Fire Residents United as a sponsor for AB 1642: Ending Insurance Driven Fire Testing and Establishing Science-Based Safety Standards,” Harabedian said in the press release. “No family should have to worry about whether their home is safe after a fire.”

Harabedian said the legislation would change how reoccupancy decisions are made. “AB 1642 ensures that decisions about returning home are guided by science and public health, not insurance company guesswork,” he said in the release.

In a statement included in the announcement, EFRU said the bill addresses what the group described as ongoing exposure risk for residents who have returned to standing homes within and near the burn zone. “People are living, learning, and working in places that may still be contaminated with lead and asbestos from the devastating LA Fires—and that is an urgent public health risk,” the group said.

EFRU also said the bill would create a uniform framework. “AB 1642 creates clear, science-based statewide standards for testing and cleanup of indoor and soil contamination, so families aren’t forced to choose between coming home and protecting their health,” the statement said. “We’re sponsoring this bill because without these protections, communities like Altadena face an even steeper—and more unequal—road to recovery.”

The bill, as introduced, would add a new Part 3 to Division 12 of the state Health and Safety Code, beginning at Section 13980. It is written as an urgency statute that would take effect immediately upon enactment, citing what the bill calls the immediate need to remediate contamination and rebuild housing in Los Angeles and Ventura counties impacted by the January 2025 wildfires.

The bill has registered formal opposition from insurance industry trade associations, according to a CalMatters commentary published by an attorney representing Eaton Fire homeowners; no opposition voice was included in Harabedian’s announcement.

Harabedian represents the 41st Assembly District, which includes Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, La Cañada Flintridge, Monrovia, Bradbury, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont and portions of Hesperia, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland.

AB 1642 will be heard March 10 in the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.