Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo camped outside this past weekend for 24 hours next to the 90-acre underground fire at Chiquita Canyon Landfill to shine a light on the ongoing public health impacts harming families across Val Verde, Castaic and Santa Clarita.

Joined by Jane Williams, Executive Director of California Communities Against Toxics,Schiavo spent the night in the front yard of Brandi Howse, a local mother whose family has suffered health impacts including five miscarriages, chronic nosebleeds in her son and recent stage three breast cancer treatment. Three of Howse’s immediate neighbors also have cancer. Across her small street, nearly a dozen people have been diagnosed with serious illnesses.

“We slept outside in the same toxic air these families have been breathing every day for at least three years,” said Schiavo. “Within an hour, I started experiencing intense symptoms, a pounding headache, burning eyes, a sore and raspy throat, overwhelming fatigue, ringing in my ears and severe nausea. These aren’t just symptoms you can ignore, they’re what so many families are suffering through every single day.”

The underground fire at the landfill has now tripled in size, from 30 to 90 acres and growing, and is now expected to burn for multiple decades. It continues to release cancer-causing chemicals, produce millions of gallons of leachate (a toxic black sludge) and blanket neighborhoods in noxious fumes. Residents report a range of serious health issues: tremors, nosebleeds, blistering headaches, respiratory distress and long-term illnesses like cancer.

“My experience of camping for almost 24 hours next to the landfill convinced me even more firmly that people living close to that landfill need to be relocated.” said Williams, “I had headaches, a sore throat, burning skin and eyes, nausea and ear pain. I can’t imagine what it’s like living there day and day out. The EPA confirmed this is the worst ongoing chemical disaster in United States history. It’s beyond time for direct actions for these families who have already suffered for far too long.”

Schiavo said the overnight campout was a call to action for every state, local and federal agency with the authority to step in to declare a state of emergency, order relocation and hold Chiquita Canyon Landfill and $50 billion parent company Waste Connections accountable in the absence of their support to address the suffering their burning landfill is causing.

The Assemblywoman’s action comes as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a directive for Waste Connections to resume temporary relocation and home-hardening assistance.

Schiavo said that While that directive was necessary, it is not sufficient because there is no immediate action or deadline that protects families.

“Both LACDPH and state and federal agencies should have already issued relocation orders. We saw at the Aliso Canyon Gas explosion relocation orders within days, here it has been years. And at Aliso there was a state of emergency, some of the similar chemicals but many fewer. And Aliso only had hundreds of air complaints while near the landfill there are more than 24,000 air complaints. We know County and State action can happen faster to protect people and that’s the kind of action our community needs now,” she said. “Anything short of implementing relocation for the most impacted families is not enough. We need more than slow moving lawsuits and directives. A lawsuit takes years. These families are sick now. Children are bleeding uncontrollably from their noses, having irregular heart rates and respiratory issues. Families are being poisoned. Workers are becoming disabled and unable to work, even losing homes. Delay is negligent and further harms those we should be stepping in to protect.”

Schiavo has already introduced two bills and a budget request in response to this public health crisis:

— The Landfill Safety Act (AB 28) – Strengthens oversight of landfills, requires earlier warnings, mandates corrective actions and imposes penalties of up to $1 million a week to fund relief and relocation for impacted communities.

— The Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act (AB 27) – Ensures that families receiving relief funds do not face tax penalties or risk losing essential benefits like Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or disability assistance.

— Budget Request: $25 Million Relocation Assistance – this budget request would support relocation and home hardening assistance for impacted neighbors.

“We’ve introduced legislation, called for emergency declarations, and pushed state and local responsible agencies to act. While there has been a robust response on the landfill itself, the solutions simply haven’t worked and the fire has tripled to 90 acres. We know this is a long term disaster that will burn for 20 or more years and we cannot accept more delay while families grow sicker,” said Schiavo.

During the 24-hour action, Schiavo and Williams spoke with impacted families and documented their experiences which can be seen here on Instagram.

Schiavo also stayed at another Val Verde neighbor’s home in October of 2024, and with only about an hour of exposure she had similar symptoms and additionally got a bloody nose in the morning. Her 2024 video diary can be viewed here.