It was first hollowed out by in the 1990s the Pacific Gas and Electric Company ( PG & E ) , which had been buying up local properties for decades , only for many more residents to flee after the organization was proven to have contaminated groundwater with hexavalent chromium . Now the town of Hinkley , California - a Mojave Desert community famous for being 'saved ' by Erin Brockovich and then immortalized in Steven Soderberg 's Oscar-winning film - has been all-but deserted . After the movie was released in 2000 , PG & E - who paid out $ 333 million in an out-of-court settlement - never halted its crusade to obtain land rights for most of the town , and last year stopped delivering bottled water to the few locals that remained , after tests in the area showed the chromium levels were below the maximum . As a result , Hinkley has sadly started to grind to a halt . Closed for business : Hinkley , the The Mojave Desert community whose toxic chromium contamination was portrayed in the movie 'Erin Brockovich ' , has already lost its post office and will now lose its only gas station and convenience store . Shutting down : Hinkley 's business has been dwindling as the community struggled with concerns over the cancer-causing chromium-6 in well water . Here , Ali Abu Hantash , owner of Hinkley Market & Gas , sits and waits for customers to enter his general store in Hinkley , Calif . The store will close in the coming weeks . Deserted : Hinkley , an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert , in San Bernardino County , California , 14 miles northwest of Barstow , suffered greatly from its only school shutting down . According to Vice , PG & E continued their buy out to reduce the risk of any more lawsuits . In March this year , the Hinkley post office closed . Postal officials say they will be looking for a new location for the Hinkley Post Office , which had been at the same location since 1958 . The number of street deliveries in Hinkley has dropped by nearly 38 percent — from 504 in 2012 to 321 in 2015 , U.S . Postal Service spokeswoman Eva M. Jackson told the San Bernardino Sun newspaper . Huge hit : Erin Brockovich , starring Julia Roberts , was released on March 17 , 2000 , and grossed $ 28.1 million on its opening weekend . It went on to make $ 126.6 million in North America and $ 130.7 million worldwide . Rented boxes dropped 76 percent , from 321 to 75 , during the same period , she said . During the 1950s and 1960s , PG & E used chromium-6 to kill algae and protect the metal at its Hinkley natural gas pumping station . Decades later , residents blamed their illnesses on a plume of contaminated groundwater that is 8 miles long and 2 miles wide . The utility reached a $ 333 million settlement with residents in a case portrayed in the hit 2000 film 'Erin Brockovich , ' starring Julia Roberts . Iconic : Albert Finney and Julia Roberts walk down the main street of Hinkley in a scene from Erin Brockovich . Business at the convenience store — the Hinkley Market — collapsed after the nearby Hinkley Elementary School closed in June 2013 , the newspaper said . The school shut down because of dwindling enrollment . The market and gas station - the only store and place to get gas - will close at the end of April . The store was bought out by PG & E . 'It 's another blow to the community , ' Lester White , a longtime community advocate , said of the loss of the town 's only storefront . No Hollywood ending : Hinkley has been decimated by the toxic water that has infected the area the decades . Empty : PG & E have been buying up homes in Hinkley for years just to knock them down and leave the land . Ruins : Some of the homes have been left sitting , rotting away . Locals say the town is nothing like what it used to be , but a few farms still remain . The land parcel containing the gas station , market and post office is owned by Barstow resident Tawfig A. Musitef , who could not be reached for comment . According to Brenda McIlvain , owner of Riley 's Place , a roadside dive bar , the town was once 'full of such nice people ' . 'But I do n't think Hinkley will ever be like it used to be , ' she told Vice . PG & E spokesman Jeff Smith told the Sun that the company is in negotiations to buy the parcel . PG & E has been buying residential properties in Hinkley for decades as people seek to relocate .
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company ( PG & E ) continued buying up homes in Hinkley for years after their $ 333 million lawsuit payout . Many locals took the offers and others fled the toxic water . The homes have been knocked down or left as they are . Hexavalent chromium contaminated the groundwater , causing numerous cancers and illnesses to residents over time . The local post office and school recently closed from lack of business . The convenience store and sole gas station set to shut later this month . Comment: