Boulder County Commissioners on Thursday awarded a multimillion dollar contract to clean up tons of debris from the Marshall fire to a company with offices in Texas and Louisiana whose experience consists mostly of restoring communities after hurricanes and tornadoes.

DRC Emergency Services LLC has already been working in Boulder County for the past several years as an on-call contractor. 

During a public meeting held online, officials said DRC’s proposal was the “most competitive in terms of project costs” of the 11 that they received. DRC’s bid was based on a per-parcel basis. 

Darla Arians, who manages Boulder County’s Resource Conservation Division, said the search committee, which involved Boulder Public Works and County Attorney Ben Pearlman, narrowed its choice to two companies: DRC and ECC. The committee met for 10 and a half hours before making its decision. Arians said the committee considered hiring more than one contractor to complete the work, but it would be “significantly more expensive” to go that route. As a result, DRC will be the sole contractor. Already, DRC trucks have been seen in the fire-ravaged area hauling off debris from public rights of way. 

This massive disaster recovery project will consist of hauling off the remains of at least 1,084 residential properties and seven businesses from Colorado’s most destructive wildfire.

DRC will also be responsible for hiring asbestos crews; procuring arborists to assess the health of trees that survived the fire; monitoring air, traffic, dust and spill control; doing independent property assessments; and capping utilities, according to the Boulder County Marshall Fire Debris Removal Program website.

Fire victims eager to rebuild have been frustrated with the pace of the debris cleanup. DRC has told county officials that it will clean up the debris in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County by July 1. Once the debris is hauled off, then residents can start rebuilding, Arians said during a community meeting in January. 

Observers who know the workings of disaster cleanup have been warning Boulder County not to go with the company with the lowest bid just for the sake of saving money. Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who until recently was a Boulder County resident, has been watching the process and fired off a cautionary letter to Boulder County Commissioners on Saturday. 

“In every substantial bidding process, there are certain bidders that lack meaningful qualifications, skill, sophistication and/or size to conduct the needed work,” Brown wrote in his letter to county officials. “For the sake of the taxpayers of Colorado … do not be ‘penny wise and dollar foolish’ to the grave detriment of the victims, the citizens of Boulder County.” 

FEMA is funding 75% of the Marshall fire debris removal. The remaining 25% of cleanup funds will come from state and local governments.

Last week, U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet wrote to FEMA and President Joe Biden asking the agency to provide 100% of the funding “because of the staggering scale of destruction.”