Neighbors protest plan to put ash in Calabasas Landfill

Protesters are continuing to pressure local officials to dump a plan to bring thousands of tons of ash and debris from the recent wildfires to the Calabasas Landfill in Agoura Hills.

Opponents of the plan, which involves bringing up to 5,000 tons of debris from the Palisades Fire to the landfill each day, first came out to the site on Saturday to make their displeasure known, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

"Our concerns are the microscopic particles in the ash that cannot be cleaned out," local resident Kelly Martino told KTLA on Saturday. "This is microscopic airborne ash, primarily asbestos. It should all be packed up and taken to Nevada ... where there's no population in the middle of the desert. It does not belong in a residential neighborhood."

Ash can contain lead, other heavy metals and a variety of toxic compounds, and scientists say any amount of lead exposure is potentially dangerous.

The Calabasas City Council agrees with Martino and the other protesters, writing a letter to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in opposition to the plan.

“The City Council is compelled to echo public sentiment that the urgency of the recovery phase and efforts to remediate one disaster is laying the foundation for future public health and environmental catastrophes that will affect Calabasas residents,” city leaders wrote.

Martino, who also spoke with the Times and said she lives at the base of the landfill, agreed that the protesters are deeply concerned about future impacts.

“We are just a bunch of moms looking to protect our kids, our schools, our health, not wanting this to become some huge thing in 20 years when a bunch of kids are sick and we have to sue for damages,” Martino said. “We’re trying to stop that before that happens.”