Fiery Situation Still Burning at PictSweet

As firefighters worked to contain a smoldering compost pile at PictSweet Mushroom Farms, dozens of pickers locked in a long-standing labor dispute protested Friday outside company headquarters. Meanwhile, county regulators said the company could face fines of $1,000 to $50,000 per day for creating a public nuisance.

Laborers said managers failed to alert them to the safety precautions they should take as the fire burned hundreds of feet from the buildings where they work.

And, since the blaze began over the weekend, they say they have been expected to work full days even as they breathed in irritating smoke.

“They look at us like objects and machinery, not human beings,” said mushroom picker Jesus Torres, 42, chairman of a committee trying to hammer out a union contract with the company. “The company has never cared about our health.”

Harry Stang, a Los Angeles attorney for PictSweet, said the allegations were propaganda brought by a minority of employees and fueled by union politics.

“The bottom line is these people have been in a corporate campaign against us forever and their commitment to veracity is limited,” he said. “They want to take advantage of anything that can happen.”

Stang said the company received assurances from county public health officials and Cal-OSHA that working conditions were safe for all employees other than those with respiratory conditions.

While protesters said they were not given protective masks until Friday, Stang said masks had been made available since Monday.

“We’ve advised employees that if they have any symptoms of bronchitis, asthma or any breathing difficulties, to let us know and they’ll be released from work immediately,” Stang said.

However, he acknowledged PictSweet has not promised to pay workers for lost time.

County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said the fire should be 75% contained by Monday and could be extinguished by the middle of next week.

“We’re going to continue 24 hours a day,” Wells said of the effort. “At this point, it seems we’ll achieve that goal.”

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In the meantime, pungent smoke was expected to continue drifting into neighborhoods across western Ventura County throughout the weekend, and forced the closure of the Olivas Adobe.

Officials suspect the compost--a mix of straw and horse manure used to grow mushrooms--produced enough heat to set itself on fire. If the pile were spread out over a uniform depth of 1 foot, it would span 28 football fields.

County public health officials have said smoke from the compost is not hazardous to most people. But they have warned those who suffer from asthma, heart conditions or other respiratory problems to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity if they are in areas affected by the smoke.

Forecasters had feared strong winds might kick up the blaze on Friday and send smoke into Los Angeles County. But by midafternoon, Wells said, no complaints had been received east of Camarillo.

County, state and federal agencies continued to monitor air and water quality near the fire.

PictSweet faces fines if it is found to have been negligent in the management of its operations, county Air Pollution Control Officer Dick Baldwin said.

But he said it was premature to consider any fines.

“I’m going to deal with the penalties, if there are any, after this is all over.”

In 1991, the county fined PictSweet’s parent company $1,000 for a much smaller compost fire at the site, Baldwin said.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board also can levy fines if the company is found to have violated permit requirements. A spokeswoman for the board said the matter was under review.

A concerted effort by county fire officials to put out the blaze began only on Thursday.

Before then, officials were stalled by concerns that pouring water on the heap could kick up massive smoke clouds or send pollutants into ground water or into the nearby Santa Clara River, where fish and the habitat could be threatened.

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Authorities determined that they could put out the blaze faster, and with less water, if they scooped up the compost and transferred it to a larger field where it could be spread thinly and smothered with soil.

About 40% of the compost had been moved by Friday afternoon using that method, Wells said.

As firefighters worked, United Farm Workers’ leaders gathered outside the company and waited for mushroom pickers to finish their shifts and join them.

About 2 p.m., a group of 50 protesters marched on the management office, some carrying posters, others chanting in Spanish. Clergy members were scheduled to join them for a vigil later in the day.

Among the protesters was Alfredo Zamora, 41, a mushroom picker who suffers from asthma and was sent home from work by company officials Friday morning.

“There’s smoke inside the rooms because there are large fans that push the smoke inside,” Zamora said through a translator.

He said he had been working throughout the week despite his trouble breathing because he feared the company would not pay him for time lost.

Zamora said he makes $200 to $300 a week depending on how many mushrooms he picks. Workers are paid 46 cents per three-pound basket, he said. And with seven children and a wife who doesn’t work, he said, “I need the money.”