The city of Los Angeles has secured a court injunction against a Boyle Heights construction and demolition debris company after a giant mound of trash onsite caught fire and smoldered for six weeks last fall, City Attorney Mike Feuer has announced.
Feuer said in a press release on June 23 that the city obtained the injunction injunction prohibiting further operation at Clean Up America Inc., and that the company must take immediate steps to clear space for fire lanes. Final details will be set out at a court hearing.
“The injunction we’ve secured is a positive first step toward cleaning up this incredibly perilous fire hazard,” Feuer said in the statement. “The dangerous conditions at this facility posed a daily threat to residents, businesses and employees in this Boyle Heights neighborhood.”
Attorneys who have represented the company could not immediately be reached for comment, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported.
Last Sept. 18, a trash pile 25 feet high and 250 feet wide and estimated to contain 11 million tons of debris caught fire; it smoldered for six weeks until firefighters could clear away enough debris to extinguish the fire.
Feuer said in the statement that firefighters’ access to the debris pile was limited by a lack of fire lanes. He also said company violated state regulations requiring removal of trash within 15 days of disposal onsite, instead allowing the trash to pile up. His office filed suit in December, claiming the site posed an immediate health hazard.
