LA wildfire debris is going to local landfills. Neighbors of one worry it’s toxic

Cleaning up from one of the largest wildfire disasters in recent history takes a while.

The first phase of the cleanup around Los Angeles involved removing truckloads of hazardous household stuff, including propane tanks, batteries and paint cans. All of that went to landfills designated to take hazardous waste.

The cleanup is now in phase two, which involves removing all the remaining debris. And it is not going very far at all — in fact, a lot of it is staying right in L.A. County, just hundreds of yards from homes, parks and schools.

That’s not particularly popular with the people who live there.

That’s why dozens of protesters spent a recent afternoon blocking the entrance of the Calabasas Landfill about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. L.A. County selected this landfill to receive the ash and dirt that was left over from the wildfires after household hazardous materials got cleared. That’s the job of the Army Corps of Engineers, which didn’t respond to a request for comment. L.A. County’s Sanitation Department said in a statement that all the toxic stuff gets separated out of the debris headed here.

“They cannot guarantee that it’s nonhazardous. And our argument is there’s no way to sort through the ash,” said resident Kelly Martino. She said this is a local, municipal landfill not designed to receive hazardous waste. “At this landfill, you’re not even allowed to throw away a paint can or an Energizer battery.”

Finding all the toxic stuff in the ash and soil is a tall order. Some of it might still be in there, including asbestos, lead, PFAS, arsenic and mercury.

“What I’m concerned about as a pediatrician is that in years to come, we are going to see more cases of cancer and tumors and autoimmune issues and illnesses and diseases, just from the environmental exposure of these contaminants,” said Calabasas-based Dr. Tanya Altmann, who’s with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Thousands of residents live within a mile of this landfill.

“It’s in the immediate vicinity of five schools. It’s 100 yards away from a park used by kids every single day,” said Dallas Lawrence, president of the local Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education.

Until a few weeks ago, the waste wasn’t supposed to go there, because it was coming from too far away. But the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow it temporarily. The board also expanded the number of tons of waste it can take every day.

The bordering city of Calabasas filed for a preliminary restraining order to stop the trucks, but the court denied it. Under current circumstances, the county is allowed to send this waste to landfills it wouldn’t normally go.

“The ordinance in 2020,” said Calabasas Mayor Peter Kraut, “was specifically designed to allow for an expedited cleanup in the event of an emergency declared by the governor.”

There are upsides to doing things this way: This landfill is closer to some of the fire-devastated areas than the alternatives. That means truck trips are shorter, so the cleanup goes faster and doesn’t require as much diesel fuel. The state can stop it at any time if there’s a threat to public health.

“The Palisades homeowners and business owners are entitled to a speedy cleanup. What I don’t want to see is a speedy cleanup and a health hazard brought into the city of Calabasas,” said Kraut.

After about an hour, police arrived and broke up the protest. On the last day of February, the landfill received its first loads of debris. Calabasas and its residents have filed lawsuits to try and stop it, but while they wait for the courts, the trucks keep coming.