Pulling Canyon Out of Dumps

Spring Canyon is undergoing a spring-cleaning this week and next.

Since Monday, the California Environment Project and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps have been working to clear a two-mile stretch of the lower part of the ravine north of Valley Canyon Road in Canyon Country, said Scott Mathes, CEP executive director.

The dried-up creek bed has been choked with junk and debris over the years as people converted Spring Canyon into an illegal dumping site.

So far, work crews have hauled out about 300 tires, a dollhouse, a few animal carcasses, several major appliances and even two old cars, Mathes said Tuesday.

The crews, made up of a couple dozen conservation corps workers and CEP volunteers, have also recovered hundreds of pounds of glass, scrap wood and scrap metal, all of which will be recycled.

On Tuesday, workers found a rusting motorcycle that appeared as if it might still be operable.

“It almost started,” Mathes said.

“The tires were flat, but the engine was intact. As we rolled it, it sounded like the motor was turning over.” It didn’t.

The cleanup crews, which have already covered about half a mile of the canyon, will continue to work through today and Thursday, then resume work next Tuesday, Mathes said.