By Debra Atlas, aNewsCafe.com.

It's tough to write about something you've never seen. When I decided to write about landfills, I realized I'd never been to one. So I arranged to visit Shasta County's West Central Landfill, which lies about 9 miles west on Clear Creek Road off Highway 273 in Redding.

The drive there took me through scorched land - the scene of the September 2013 Clover Fire that burned more than 8,000 acres near Igo. As devastated as the hills and forests had been, there were encouraging signs of a slow recovery.

When I arrived, my imagination smashed into reality. I had pictured trash everywhere, blowing loose. Clearly the wrong picture.