Bloomberg has created a visualization showing how underground heat at one of the largest municipal waste dumps in Los Angeles County has intensified and spread between 2019 and 2024. As buried trash decomposes, it produces methane and other gases, which landfills capture through a network of wells. But if too much oxygen is pulled in—often from aggressive gas extraction—it can trigger a smoldering reaction deep in the waste. That reaction generates intense heat and toxic fumes. Drawing on temperature probes, the visualization maps how these underground “hot zones” have grown from a few acres in 2019 to an estimated 90 acres by 2025, with some wells recording temperatures over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, more than 70 degrees above the federal safety limit.
Mapping the Rise of Dangerous Heat Beneath a California Landfill
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