Joanie Kasten remembers peering out the kitchen window of her 108-year-old cabin in the Angeles National Forest and seeing a woman “going potty” near a large rock. “Poor thing,” the 74-year-old thought. “She doesn’t know I’m right here.
” That was before the fierce Bobcat fire tore through Big Santa Anita Canyon in 2020, closing it to the public. Much of the canyon — which includes the popular Chantry Flat recreation area — is slated to reopen Oct. 1 , and some who live there in historic cabins are worried that it’s going to open a floodgate of feces and urine.
That’s because seven toilets in and around the highly trafficked canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains vanished over the last six years — about half the facilities in the area, according to information provided by the U.S. Forest Service.
Some were removed to comply with federal water safety regulations; others because they exceeded their lifespan. The fire claimed two. The loss climbs to nine if you factor in another two that were replaced but are currently unusable.
That leaves seven (and one urinal) in operation, including two composting toilets at a hike-in campground . Five of the area’s seven toilets are clustered at the Chantry Flats Picnic Area , a nexus for the most popular trails. Officials plan to install two portable toilets before the reopening.
It’s not just the canyon that’s lost restrooms in recent years. The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the Forest Service to clos.