About 35 people attended the Energy Technology Engineering Center’s third Community Outreach, Neighbor Notifications, Engagement, Collaboration and Training Series meeting to learn about wildfires and air monitoring and to ask questions about the recent Sandy Fire that burned near the site but did not cross onto the boundary. August 25, 2026
Office of Environmental Management
August 25, 2026
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U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center Acting Director Melody Bell, left, presents a recognition award to Division Chief Matt Falat for the Ventura County Fire Department’s efforts to protect the community and Santa Susana Field Laboratory during the Sandy Fire in May.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — About 35 people attended the Energy Technology Engineering Center’s (ETEC) third Community Outreach, Neighbor Notifications, Engagement, Collaboration and Training (CONNECT) Series meeting to learn about wildfires and air monitoring and to ask questions about the recent Sandy Fire that burned near the site but did not cross onto the boundary.
Division Chief Matt Falat with the Ventura County Fire Department discussed county fire response in general and in relation to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), the 2,850-acre former rocket engine testing and nuclear research facility that includes ETEC, where the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) previously conducted liquid metals and nuclear energy research.
Melody Bell, acting director for DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center, presented Falat with an award to recognize the fire department’s efforts to protect the community and SSFL.
“We really appreciate . . . what you and your team did (during the Sandy Fire and) want to present you with a special recognition . . . in gratitude for the rapid response, skill and dedicated efforts to protect the community and SSFL during the Sandy Fire 2026,” Bell said.
Josh Mengers, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s federal project director for the Energy Technology Engineering Center, presents on recent site activities, wildfires and air monitoring during the Community Outreach, Neighbor Notifications, Engagement, Collaboration and Training community meeting. Photo courtesy of Pamela Hartman
Josh Mengers, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management federal project director for ETEC, discussed the site’s response during the Sandy Fire in May, including coordination with site partners and emergency responders.
Mengers shared preliminary data from the site’s air monitoring program established in 2018. Early data is still being analyzed but the results for a type of particulate matter are typical of a normal increase due to wildfire smoke, he noted. Final results will be available in a second-quarter 2026 air monitoring report.
Mengers provided a look at the 2018 Woolsey Fire that burned across 80% of SSFL, including portions of Area IV where ETEC is located.
Because the Woolsey Fire burned across a large portion of SSFL, community members raised concerns that contamination from previous operations was released. Mengers said the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the state regulator overseeing final cleanup plans for the site, led a multiagency response to evaluate this possibility and concluded in its final summary report there was no release of contaminants from SSFL.
The presentation slides and recording will be available on ETEC’s CONNECT Series page.
-Contributor: Melissa Simon
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