Photo By Sgt. Maj. Casey Nelsen | U.S. Army Spc. Luther Owanga, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear...... read more read more
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LOS ANGELES – A U.S. Army Chemical Corps specialist took charge of a hazardous materials team during a wildfire response mission in Southern California.
Spc. Luther Owanga from the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) led from the front during the U.S. military support mission following the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
Owanga managed a hazardous materials team and ensured the team members were equipped and ready to clear the homesites.
Owanga was one of the Soldiers from the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) and the 21st Chemical Company (Hazard Response) who joined together with Sailors, Marines and Airmen under the command of U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-Civil Support to remove hazardous waste from debris ridden homesites in California.
U.S. Army Hazardous Response companies conduct Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance, surveillance and decontamination operations with conventional and Special Operations forces and provide support to civil authorities.
The Fort Riley, Kansas-based 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) “Gladiators” are part of the 2nd Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command. The Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 21st Chemical Company (Hazard Response) “Blackjacks” are part of the 83rd Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade and 20th CBRNE Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.
Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to take on the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations across the nation and around the world.
During the mission, the Chemical Corps Soldiers worked 12-hour days in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles County to mark, collect, package and remove hazardous waste from the homesites impacted by the California wildfires.
In addition to everyday household products like paints, automotive oils, herbicides, pesticides, propane tanks and other pressurized gas, the hazardous materials teams removed lithium-ion batteries from vehicles, homes and other products.
The fires damaged or destroyed lithium-ion batteries, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems and electric and hybrid vehicles. These batteries can spontaneously re-ignite, explode and emit toxic gases and particulates into the atmosphere even after the fire is out.
“I cleared more than 780 homes and removed 4,917 pieces of hazardous materials mostly consisting of batteries,” said Owanga. “The weather was fairly mild most days I was on site, but my team was operating in the remains of burnt down buildings often times making it difficult to navigate through the parcels safely.”
Originally from Houston, Owanga graduated from Klein High School and joined the Army as a Chemical Corps Soldier in May 2021.
Owanga kept headquarters personnel informed while overcoming communications challenges. He said his team had to carefully move through the burned homesites while looking for hazardous materials.
“The biggest challenge was accurately identifying hazardous materials while navigating the physical dangers of moving through piles of rubble such as nails, loose bricks, and other unstable surfaces,” said Owanga. “We overcame this challenge by observing the safe paths taken by the reconnaissance elements that entered before us and by being very deliberate with our movements.”
Owanga said working together with the civilians from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Environmental Protection Agency gave him real-world experience in removing hazardous materials.
“This experience has made me more proficient in identifying flammable and hazardous household items which will give me better situational awareness when conducting operations in an urban environment,” said Owanga.
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2025 11:14 |
| Story ID: | 495012 |
| Location: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 677 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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