<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">At a glance, the community garden plot appears bountiful. Its beds, flanked by lavender plants, are lush with parsley, lettuces and kale that are weeks overgrown.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">But a sign on the gate forbids entry, describing the site as “DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Altadena Community Garden is adjacent to the more than 14,000 acres that were scorched by the Eaton fire in January. Across the road are burned-out homes, crumpled roofs and the husks of cars.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">State and federal leaders have touted the speed with which cleanup efforts have occurred here and in Pacific Palisades, where a separate fire burned more than 23,000 acres. President Trump <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/politics/tour-pacific-palisades-wildfire-damage.html?smid=url-share" title="">made clear in January</a> that he felt residents should be able to rebuild immediately, and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said last month that hazardous waste had been removed at “a record pace never seen before at this scale.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Still, fears abound that pollutants could linger on the land long after federal authorities clear about <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Management/Los-Angeles-County-Wildfire-Debris-Removal-Mission/FAQ/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">4.25 million tons</a> of waste from the two fires, including ash, debris and topsoil. What if, after the cleanup, toxic pollutants remain behind?</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“We want to be able to plant fruit trees that we can use,” said Laura Siahaan, an Altadena mother of two children who lost her home in the fires. “We want our kids to be able to play outside.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Rebuilding, in her mind, means “not having any toxic remnants from this fire that follow us for years.”</p><div class="css-1336jj"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171quhb"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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