A Los Angeles family faces an urgent crisis as their neighbors' abandoned property transforms into a hazardous junkyard, endangering their health and safety. Despite their pleas for help, government agencies have failed to respond adequately, leaving them feeling trapped and desperate.
In the tranquil neighborhood of Sun Valley, Los Angeles, the Malone family's dream home has turned into a living nightmare. Since purchasing their property in 2021, they have witnessed the neighbor's property next door deteriorate into a chaotic junkyard, overflowing with toxic waste, trash, and stolen vehicles.
California Family Trapped in Nightmare as Neighbors' Junkyard Spreads Toxic Waste
Elena Malone, a mother of two young children and a wife to a cancer survivor, is at her breaking point. She has spent years pleading with government agencies to intervene, but her pleas have been met with indifference and buck-passing.
"We are trapped here," Malone told "Fox & Friends First." "I can't sell the property, and I can't seem to get the city, the state, or the federal government to do anything."
California Family Trapped in Nightmare as Neighbors' Junkyard Spreads Toxic Waste
The junkyard's hazardous waste poses a grave threat to the Malone family's health. The contaminated soil, melted car batteries, and piles of debris create a toxic environment that is especially concerning for their young children and Malone's husband, who is still recovering from cancer treatment.
Despite repeated calls to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP), no action has been taken to clean up the site. The EPA has declared it a hazardous waste site, but refuses to remove the contaminated soil until the CHP removes the abandoned vehicles. The CHP, in turn, claims it is too dangerous to enter the property without additional safety measures.
"They're passing the buck," Malone lamented. "Each agency says they won't engage with this person because it's not safe, but they're not doing anything to make it safe."
Compounding the Malone family's distress is the fact that the property owner, Mary Ferrera, allows her son, David, to live on the site and continues to deliver him food each day. While Malone understands Ferrera's concern for her son, she emphasizes that she is "endangering the whole community."
"We've already had two fires in this canyon this week," Malone said. "The amount of debris on the property makes it incredibly dangerous in the event of a wildfire."
The most heartbreaking aspect for Malone is the lack of empathy from the neighbors. During her husband's cancer treatment, she asked them to keep the gate free to allow her to retrieve him in emergencies. However, one day when her husband was particularly sick, she was trapped in her house because the gate was blocked by cars.
"I could not imagine someone not being able to see the empathy and move their car so that they could allow their neighbor to go get their husband and their family," Malone said with tears in her eyes.
The Malone family feels abandoned and desperate. They have exhausted all avenues for help, and the government agencies that are supposed to protect them have failed to respond adequately. As the toxic junkyard continues to grow, they fear for their health and safety. Without immediate action, their dream home has become a prison, trapping them in a living nightmare.
