chimney

For weeks, the bench has stood in open view amid the chimneys, water heaters and husks of cars, the remnants of this nightmare.

But a few feet away, the house looked like it had been taken out by a missile, the chimney rising like a tombstone over the debris of a structure that had stood for a century.

The Calabasas Landfill is one of at least seven nonhazardous waste landfills in Southern California approved to accept waste — including chimneys, hazardous trees and fire debris and ash — from this latest cleanup phase.

“All that was standing was our chimney and a basketball hoop. We didn’t even make the turn onto our street. We could see everything was obliterated.”

Its huge facade, emblazoned with a giant VW logo and flanked by four tall chimneys, dominates one bank of the canal that runs through the city.