Gardeners who want their plants to grow tall and green know that mulch can be an essential soil additive.
But piles of mulch left on empty land, reaching up to 8-feet high, are another matter entirely. These vast mulch piles, often dumped by waste haulers, can create heat and spontaneously combust, spreading flames and smoke for miles.
Several dangerous mulch fires have occurred in unincorporated areas of the Antelope Valley in the last several years — including this year — sometimes burning for days and pushing flames for miles, fouling the air with hazardous particles, and placing firefighters at risk, Los Angeles County reported.
The county will move ahead with a series of actions to prevent future illegal dumping and mulch fires, according to a motion adopted by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The motion was authored by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes the Antelope Valley.
“This motion is about developing a legal framework within the county’s authority to curb illegal dumping that is running rampant in the Antelope Valley. My North County residents are suffering from terrible pollution that has reached crisis proportions. They deserve environmental justice. This illegal activity must be stopped in its tracks,” said Barger in a statement released after the vote.
The county wants new, local ordinances that limit the height of mulch piles; require property owners to test the materials for heavy metals and pathogens; and perform regular temperature checks of stockpiled mulch. The county also intends to increase fines for illegal dumping and initiate ways for the county to recover the costs of putting out these fires, according to the motion.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will look into adding remote surveillance cameras and license plate readers at known “hot spots” where mulch fires have occurred.
The Bravo Fire spontaneously exploded into flames on April 29. The fire spread across 10 acres of mulch in the small, unincorporated community of Neenach, population 808, 15 miles east of Gorman.
It took firefighters four days to extinguish the Neenach mulch fire, said Capt. Sheila Kelliher-Berkoh of the Los Angeles County Fire Department on Tuesday. No structures were damaged and no one was hurt.
“This happens with a lot of different things — wood chips and organic matter break down. As the pile starts to decompose, it can produce heat and start a mulch fire,” Kelliher-Berkoh said.
The Bravo Fire cost the L.A. County Fire District more than $288,000, Barger reported. There have been about 70 mulch-related incidents over the past four years, Kelliher-Berkoh said. “Over the last two years, you are looking at a significant amount,” she added.
A recent mulch fire in the Lake Los Angeles area stemming from illegal dumping cost about $100,000 to put out, Barger reported.
From 2020 to 2024, direct costs to the fire department totaled about $1.6 million. For the L.A. County Public Works department, the cost of addressing illegal dumping has surged, going from $1.3 million in 2017-2018 to $4.5 million in fiscal year 2022-2023, according to the county.
Barger was frustrated with the brazen, illegal dumping of mulch on empty land in the Antelope Valley, a growing problem in the wide open, often rural communities of north L.A. County. Some of these fire-prone materials are left on private property by waste haulers, unknown to the owners.
“Waste is being dumped throughout our rural communities and we are taking all of it,” said Christina Brown to the board. She added that the motion “is a good start but we need more.”
A May report from the county said some private properties in the Antelope Valley have received more than 40 truck loads of debris per day. Some of the mulch materials are spread over 80 acres.
The county has only a limited ability to impound vehicles used for illegal dumping. State and county authorities can issue violations, fines, or court proceedings against the property owners, but have no enforcement power over the haulers or generators of mulch, according to a report from L.A. County Department of Public Health on Aug. 16.
The report recommends changes in state laws and regulations to track where the illegally dumped waste is coming from and where it ends up.
Without changes in the laws, and more surveillance of illegal dumpers and arrests, the problem will get worse, according to the motion. Mulch fires, especially in the Antelope Valley where high temperatures and winds fan flames, can turn into wider wildfires, the motion warns.
“It is a matter of public health, safety, and justice for all residents,” the motion concluded.
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