Canyon Cleaners : Environment: Two cars, about 1,200 tires, 3,500 pounds of scrap metal, chairs, washers and dryers are among the items removed in Tujunga.

Tires--hundreds of tires--appliances by the dozen and a new car with only its stereo missing were among a “shocking” collection of illegally dumped items pulled this week from two steep ravines in La Tuna Canyon in Tujunga.

By Thursday afternoon, sweating, dirty volunteer workers and minimum-wage Los Angeles Conservation Corps employees had dredged out what cleanup organizers said was one of the worst collections of dumped debris they have ever seen in a San Fernando Valley canyon.

“This has been really shocking to us all,” said Scott Mathes, director of the California Environmental Project, the nonprofit group that organized the cleanup with other agencies. “From the amount of debris, we think this is the first time this part of the canyon has been cleaned.”

Although illegal dumping has long plagued scenic and remote canyons throughout the Valley, park rangers and others suspect that skyrocketing prices at space-crunched landfills in the region have led to an increase in clandestine dumping.

Northern La Tuna Canyon, the site of the four-day cleanup, is especially vulnerable to dumping because of its proximity to the freeway and its desolate location far from the vigilant eyes of rangers and homeowners, said Gary Moser, chief park ranger for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency that buys and maintains parkland.

“It’s really sickening to see what has been dumped in that area,” Moser said. “There are truckloads of entire house renovations--the kitchen sink, the tiles, the ceiling.”

Most jolting to the cleanup crews working in a human chain was that they pulled out about 1,200 tires, stacking the putrid-smelling rubber by the roadside in a four-foot-high pile for 20 yards.

“It really gets me mad to see this,” said Gustavo Guzman, 19, one of the paid workers. “Before, I never even cared about the environment. But when I’m down there with all those sharp metals, heavy tires, car parts, I wonder how people can do this. They don’t realize the damage.”

The crews hauled away several large, wooden stereo consoles, couches, chairs, washers and dryers. They collected 1,100 pounds of glass, 3,500 pounds of scrap metal and two trailers full of wood and concrete, all of it hauled to recycling centers. About 30 gallons of oil in tin cans and glass bottles were carefully removed. Workers called police to haul off two cars, including a new 1989 black Mazda with only the stereo missing. Both vehicles had been reported stolen.

“It’s pretty scary down there,” said worker Lorena Chavez, 22.

Mathes’ volunteer group and the Conservation Corps crews, which are funded by state and local government grants to clean up public lands, targeted a stretch of conservancy-owned parkland in the canyon where about four feet of debris had choked chaparral and scraped away tree bark.

In their zeal to remove trash, they inadvertently cleaned an adjacent parcel of privately owned property. Mathes said they will attempt to contact the owner to ask for contributions to the cleanup effort.

Rangers and environmentalists said the debris buildup in La Tuna Canyon was especially troublesome because water from nearby creek beds eventually drains into the Los Angeles River, carrying with it residue from hazardous materials such as oil and paint. The polluted water ultimately flows into the Santa Monica Bay.

Also, wildlife food chains are poisoned when materials seep into the ground and splash on shrubbery. Animals are commonly cut or injured in the trash. Plant life is smothered by the trash. In rainy seasons, flooding is common in La Tuna Canyon because culverts are clogged, Moser said.

Environmental groups said they are bolstering their efforts to track down illegal dumpers by sifting through garbage in search of mail or other identification papers. Moser said he often tracks down dumpers and can usually persuade them to donate funds to future cleanups.

Punishment for dumping can range from a $100 citation to a $100,000 fine and prison time if hazardous materials are involved. But catching offenders is difficult because police or rangers must actually see the dumping take place.

Mathes and rangers said they will petition the city of Los Angeles to install higher road barriers to make it more difficult to unload a truck of garbage.