News
The Smoldering, Noxious Waste Dump Next Door
L.A. County’s Chiquita Canyon Landfill has spewed high levels of toxic gases and climate super-pollutants for years. Yet local residents’ pleas for help from state officials remain unanswered.
By Liza Gross
Five years ago, Elizabeth Jeffords stood at the top of a pretty, tree-lined street in Castaic, California, admiring the house she and her husband just bought. She loved how the two-story house, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, looked out onto the Sierra Pelona Mountains. She loved how it sat at the top of a mile-long hill she could use as a personal track. She imagined filling its spacious rooms with the laughter of loved ones and the children she hoped to have.