Dirt and mud collected from Altadena are being dumped in a Tujunga neighborhood with residents saying that they were never notified. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
As crews continued their work to clear out basins across Los Angeles County in case more mud and dirt flow down the foothills following the Palisades and Eaton Fires, some of the debris from Altadena was taken to a Tujunga neighborhood, sparking anger and frustration from residents.
Those who live in Tujunga said dozens of trucks pass through their neighborhood daily to head to a sediment site where dirt from Altadena’s barren hillsides was dumped.
“We noticed dump trucks, numerous dump trucks going up the street,” William Malouf, who has lived in Tujunga since 2005, said. “When the house was shaking, I'd look out the window and see it.”
Malouf and his wife, Tara, said they began seeing the trucks a few weeks after the Eaton Fire in Altadena, 14 miles from their house.
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“The squeaky breaks over the speed bumps, the noise and the vibration. It's just nonstop for us,” Tara Malouf said.
The couple said they never received notification that any work would be happening. Similar concerns from other neighbors were also posted on social media.
Los Angeles County confirmed to NBC Los Angeles that the Zachau Sediment Placement on Sevenhills Drive was indeed being used to hold dirt and mud to prevent downhill flooding into burn scar communities.
“We didn't even know the (sediment site) was there,” William said, adding that when he called the county, someone told him that it had been 15 years since they had used it until recently.
The county also said trucks are not hauling household hazardous waste or fire debris to the sediment site, explaining the recent storms added more mud and dirt into the basin that call for the use of Zachau and similar sites across the region.
“We do have neighbors up the street who are impacted by the dust and dirt inside their house, and they're having light machines trying to clear the air,” Tara said.
Sediment halting is scheduled throughout the storm season with work taking place primarily Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county also said future storms may require “further sediment removal operations.”
The Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, March 12 to address the concerns.
