Taking in the view and vapors at Vista Hermosa Park

The opening of Vista Hermosa Park just south of Echo Park last July brought some new activities to the neighborhood, including twilight camp fires, nature hikes and a quarterly inspection for poisonous and flammable gases. On a recent Sunday morning, two technicians, who happened to be observed by my friend, Holly, checked air samples to measure levels of methane and hydrogen sulfide gases that seep from the park's soil.

The mandatory testing every three months is a legacy of the disastrous effort by the Los Angeles school district to build a replacement for Belmont High School on this hillside parcel overlooking downtown Los Angeles. Worries about the gases, as well as an earthquake fault, delayed the project for years, forcing the district to give up some of the land for what became Vista Hermosa Park. A smaller than planned school, the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, sits next door.

An automated system continuously tests air samples at the school for methane and hydrogen sulfide every few minutes. An audible and visible alarm will alert school officials in case gas levels reach dangerous levels, said Tom Watson, environmental program manager for new school construction. "It has not gone off."

Next door in the park and soccer field, maintained by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, gas levels are checked manually every three months. The technicians, equipped with a hose and small pump, suck air samples out from perforated pipes sunk into the ground amid the park's sycamore trees, waterfalls and winding paths. The samples are analyzed at the park an in a lab for gas levels.

"To date, all of the data have been within acceptable limits," according to a school district statement.

If you want to check the actual results, you need to contact either the California Department of Toxic Substances Control or the LAUSD.

If you missed the last quarterly methane gas check at Vista Hermosa, don't worry. As part of an agreement with the state, Watson said the testing "will go on forever."