Mike?Hikin_Jim wrote:TacoDelRio wrote:If anyone doubts my safety, ethics, whatever, I welcome you to go for a drive with me.
Seriously though, I've got a friend who drives track and actually does know what he's doing. What would definitely be an unsafe speed for me really isn't for him, although it does make it harder to read a topo map looking for a trailhead when he's driving.
Misc. News (Archive)
You forgot to tell me.... byodTacoDelRio wrote:If anyone needs a taxi...
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bring your own diaper!
hunh?TacoDelRio wrote:Mike?Hikin_Jim wrote:TacoDelRio wrote:If anyone doubts my safety, ethics, whatever, I welcome you to go for a drive with me.
Seriously though, I've got a friend who drives track and actually does know what he's doing. What would definitely be an unsafe speed for me really isn't for him, although it does make it harder to read a topo map looking for a trailhead when he's driving.
Fire
source: http://glendoramtnroad.blogspot.com/200 ... ndora.html
Viewed from San Pedro?
GMR-closed..but for how long?
http://www.fireengineering.com/display_ ... ue_to_Rage
"It started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday next to Highway 39, near a "No Trespassing" sign, between mile markers 20 and 21. ....
Officials haven't estimated the cost to fight the fire, but the blaze will have long-lasting effects......It could be months before portions of the region are reopened, officials said."
Someone was apparently told by a road crew that the minimum will be until the end of this year.
Other places nearby have closures for unknown amount of time:
Monrovia canyon park closed temporarily
http://www.gemcityimages.com/2009/08/mo ... arily.html
Angeles Crest Fire photo set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawk59/set ... 156153442/
Wills Wing U2 160 Demo Flight
http://nmerider.blogspot.com/2009/08/wi ... light.html
Paragliding tr w/ photos from Little Tujunga area
Altadena blog starts tracking critter sightings around local area(Rubio canyon area)
http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/08/cri ... pdate.html
Historical:THE HISTORY OF LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE
http://pasadenaluxuryhomes.blogspot.com ... ridge.html
"It was Don Jose Maria Verdugo who first claimed ownership over the area, which was granted to him after asking the governor of California for a piece of land for him to retire at and to raise cattle after having served the King of Spain. Ignacio Coronel, who was granted a portion of the Verdugo family’s land in 1843, named La Canada, meaning “a glen between the mountains”. The section of Verdugo’s land that Coronel was granted extended from Tujunga all the way across from the northern tip of Glendale to the Arroyo Seco and it was this entire area that made up what was Rancho La Canada."
source: http://glendoramtnroad.blogspot.com/200 ... ndora.html
Viewed from San Pedro?
GMR-closed..but for how long?
http://www.fireengineering.com/display_ ... ue_to_Rage
"It started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday next to Highway 39, near a "No Trespassing" sign, between mile markers 20 and 21. ....
Officials haven't estimated the cost to fight the fire, but the blaze will have long-lasting effects......It could be months before portions of the region are reopened, officials said."
Someone was apparently told by a road crew that the minimum will be until the end of this year.
Other places nearby have closures for unknown amount of time:
Monrovia canyon park closed temporarily
http://www.gemcityimages.com/2009/08/mo ... arily.html
Angeles Crest Fire photo set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawk59/set ... 156153442/
Wills Wing U2 160 Demo Flight
http://nmerider.blogspot.com/2009/08/wi ... light.html
Paragliding tr w/ photos from Little Tujunga area
Altadena blog starts tracking critter sightings around local area(Rubio canyon area)
http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/08/cri ... pdate.html
Historical:THE HISTORY OF LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE
http://pasadenaluxuryhomes.blogspot.com ... ridge.html
"It was Don Jose Maria Verdugo who first claimed ownership over the area, which was granted to him after asking the governor of California for a piece of land for him to retire at and to raise cattle after having served the King of Spain. Ignacio Coronel, who was granted a portion of the Verdugo family’s land in 1843, named La Canada, meaning “a glen between the mountains”. The section of Verdugo’s land that Coronel was granted extended from Tujunga all the way across from the northern tip of Glendale to the Arroyo Seco and it was this entire area that made up what was Rancho La Canada."
Hidden Springs Cafe razed by flames
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... lames.html
"Hidden Springs Cafe, a haven to bikers, a coffee stop for commuters and a home to owner Jim Lewis and his family, has been consumed by the wildfire raging through the Angeles National Forest, authorities confirmed Tuesday"
Caltrans workers angered at loss of their homes near Mt. Wilson
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ilson.html
"The California Department of Transportation employees who lived at the remote location known as Chilao were deeply embittered by having been, as they put it, abandoned by firefighting crews as flames bore down on them Monday afternoon.....Some were too angry to talk about it. But equipment operator Robert Torres, whose home was the only residence spared, offered a few comments on their behalf"
source: http://twitpic.com/g4ozk
source: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/break ... 88312.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... lames.html
"Hidden Springs Cafe, a haven to bikers, a coffee stop for commuters and a home to owner Jim Lewis and his family, has been consumed by the wildfire raging through the Angeles National Forest, authorities confirmed Tuesday"
Caltrans workers angered at loss of their homes near Mt. Wilson
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... ilson.html
"The California Department of Transportation employees who lived at the remote location known as Chilao were deeply embittered by having been, as they put it, abandoned by firefighting crews as flames bore down on them Monday afternoon.....Some were too angry to talk about it. But equipment operator Robert Torres, whose home was the only residence spared, offered a few comments on their behalf"
source: http://twitpic.com/g4ozk
source: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/break ... 88312.html
Angeles Forest organizational chart:
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE - Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwel
RANDY MOORE Regional Forester - Pacific Southwest Region
-ED HOLLENSHEAD Director of Fire and Aviation Management
JODY NOIRON Angeles Forest Supervisor
-Marty Dumpis Deputy Forest Supervisor
-Dave Conklin Fire Management Officer
source:https://hcm.gdcii.com/directory/R5.htm
Job descriptions are available on http://www.usajobs.org/loc/+Nationwide,%20US.html
However, for fighting fires an interagency approach is used....
http://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/index.htm
commanders: Dietrich, Mike &McGowan, Jerry &Molumby, Bill
8/26/09 rotation : http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/management ... ations.pdf
Basic primer on fire fighting in the Pacific Southwest division:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/podcasts/episod ... cript2.php
"A lot of people talk about a “let it burn” policy. Do we actually have a “let it burn” policy? Are we letting fires burn?"
Station fire photos:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... .htmlstory
Wildlife Waystation in Angeles National Forest
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / September 1, 2009)
Watching the hills burn(Sunland)
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / September 1, 2009)
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE - Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwel
RANDY MOORE Regional Forester - Pacific Southwest Region
-ED HOLLENSHEAD Director of Fire and Aviation Management
JODY NOIRON Angeles Forest Supervisor
-Marty Dumpis Deputy Forest Supervisor
-Dave Conklin Fire Management Officer
source:https://hcm.gdcii.com/directory/R5.htm
Job descriptions are available on http://www.usajobs.org/loc/+Nationwide,%20US.html
However, for fighting fires an interagency approach is used....
http://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/index.htm
commanders: Dietrich, Mike &McGowan, Jerry &Molumby, Bill
8/26/09 rotation : http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/management ... ations.pdf
Basic primer on fire fighting in the Pacific Southwest division:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/podcasts/episod ... cript2.php
"A lot of people talk about a “let it burn” policy. Do we actually have a “let it burn” policy? Are we letting fires burn?"
Station fire photos:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... .htmlstory
Wildlife Waystation in Angeles National Forest
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / September 1, 2009)
Watching the hills burn(Sunland)
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / September 1, 2009)
Mouth of Rubio Canyon becomes public land
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_13263392
"ALTADENA - In its first major land acquisition the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy has closed escrow on a pristine 20-acre parcel at the mouth of Rubio Canyon, ensuring permanent public access to a prime trail into the Angeles National Forest.....In addition to its historical importance - part of the Mt. Lowe Railway is on the property"
Station fire:
part of 9/4/09 transcript from Sierra Madre town hall meeting
Speaker - Jody Noiron
"...The forest is gonna have to be closed for awhile....needs to stay closed until we get through this first season of rains...it may be [closed] for a long while".
http://www.sierramadrenews.net/ ....audio file
Fire break carved out from Altadena to Monrovia
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13255940?source=rss
"A crew of about 100 firefighters gathered at the top of Lake Avenue and cut a 3,000-foot fire line west toward Sierra Madre to create defensible space......"
Note: the firebreak actually starts at Loma Alta Drive(Rubio Canyon)...includes picture
http://altadenahiker.blogspot.com/2009/ ... ekend.html
44th Annual, Mt Baldy run to the top Mon 9/7/09
Jonathan Toker of Newbury Park wins in 1:12:11
--thats a little more than 4 mintues slower than the 2008 winner
MtBaldy events
http://www.mtbaldy.com/index.htm
the Sept 8 "snow" report...
http://www.mtbaldy.com/snow-report.htm
"...Due to fire hazards we will not be open this Saturday September 5th or Sunday September 6th. However we will be open Monday, Labor Day September 7th and hopefully return to our our normal operating schedule after that"
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_13263392
"ALTADENA - In its first major land acquisition the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy has closed escrow on a pristine 20-acre parcel at the mouth of Rubio Canyon, ensuring permanent public access to a prime trail into the Angeles National Forest.....In addition to its historical importance - part of the Mt. Lowe Railway is on the property"
Station fire:
part of 9/4/09 transcript from Sierra Madre town hall meeting
Speaker - Jody Noiron
"...The forest is gonna have to be closed for awhile....needs to stay closed until we get through this first season of rains...it may be [closed] for a long while".
http://www.sierramadrenews.net/ ....audio file
Fire break carved out from Altadena to Monrovia
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13255940?source=rss
"A crew of about 100 firefighters gathered at the top of Lake Avenue and cut a 3,000-foot fire line west toward Sierra Madre to create defensible space......"
Note: the firebreak actually starts at Loma Alta Drive(Rubio Canyon)...includes picture
http://altadenahiker.blogspot.com/2009/ ... ekend.html
44th Annual, Mt Baldy run to the top Mon 9/7/09
Jonathan Toker of Newbury Park wins in 1:12:11
--thats a little more than 4 mintues slower than the 2008 winner
MtBaldy events
http://www.mtbaldy.com/index.htm
the Sept 8 "snow" report...
http://www.mtbaldy.com/snow-report.htm
"...Due to fire hazards we will not be open this Saturday September 5th or Sunday September 6th. However we will be open Monday, Labor Day September 7th and hopefully return to our our normal operating schedule after that"
Is this really public land? What uses will be allowed?AW wrote:Mouth of Rubio Canyon becomes public land
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_13263392
"ALTADENA - In its first major land acquisition the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy has closed escrow on a pristine 20-acre parcel at the mouth of Rubio Canyon, ensuring permanent public access to a prime trail into the Angeles National Forest.....In addition to its historical importance - part of the Mt. Lowe Railway is on the property"
I find these arrangements with conservancies very troubling. Most of them use the "keep everyone out to preserve the land" or the "docent led only hikes and such" models.
One recently in OC bought a tract of land for $17 million dollars of public money. $6 mil from USFWS and $11 mil from CA DF&G (or vice versa). The public is totally locked out - $17 million of public dollars given to a private conservancy to keep the public out. And it never even made the news that I saw.
If they are going to use public money to buy some land; make it actually owned by a public agency.
Also, very recently in OC, The Irvine Company is proposing to donate 20,000 acres to county parks. TIC does nothing without a huge profit motive. They'll be building thousands of houses nearby. Most of the gifted land is unbuildable.
I also have a problem with OC Parks. They can have som pretty restrictive rules also. Much of this land is adjacent to and might be better suited to go to the CNF - but USFS doesn't issue thousands of building permits.
Well the news title is off, because it will be owned by the conservancy. Typically a hiker on a standard short trek up Rubio canyon might think they are on Angeles Forest land once they start past the houses, but actually they hike through LA county land, then private property(now bought), and then eventually Angeles Forest.
This conservancy is dedicated to substaining the area for public access, more specifically, the Altadena Crest Trail(ACT).
The following was submitted from the conservancy.....
"Dear Friends, Neighbors & Trail Users,
Thank you for your calls and congratulations regarding the Pasadena
Star News article below...
The Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, formerly Altadena Foothills
Conservancy (still AFC!) has worked with local landowner Sameer Etman
to protect 20 acres of trail, wildlife habitat (including a segment
of Rubio Creek) and Mt. Lowe history at the mouth of Rubio Canyon.
Best of all, the biodiverse property did NOT burn in the fire!
More details about this exciting acquisition will be forthcoming from
AFC; however, a dollop of good news amidst all the destruction of the
fire might be welcome this morning!
http://www.arroyosfoothills.org
Thanks to Nancy Steele, AFC President, and the AFC Board. We have
long worked with Sameer, who wished to protect his land in perpetuity
for all future generations. Thanks also to Paul Ayers, Rubio Canyon
trail historian and caretaker. He forwarded the article below to me.
This 20 acres and surrounding undeveloped lands are of even greater
importance now, as refuge for birds and other wildlife displaced by
the fire. The Forest will begin healing as the seeds and life on
remaining wild lands help restore adjacent burned areas.
Lori L. Paul
Vice President
Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (AFC)"
Clarification of MtBaldy's status:
Runners fight their way to the top of Mt. Baldy for 44th annual marathon
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13287467
"The Angeles National Forest was closed due to the Station Fire, but since the run has been happening for 44 years now, the runners were still allowed to go through, Mitchell said......The race is expected to bring in about $30,000, which will go to fund the Mt. Baldy Fire Department, Mt. Baldy Search and Rescue, West Valley Search and Rescue, and scholarships for students.The departments are all volunteers and not funded by taxpayers. The run is the only fundraiser Mt. Baldy town hall does all year. "
Burn area
http://watershednews.blogspot.com/2009/ ... -area.html
"Hazard technicians plan today to start field-checking images they received from the earth-observing LANDSAT satellite on Tuesday(Sept 8th), and they hope to have a final report and map ready for public safety agencies by next week, Cannon said."
Observations from trip into the Angeles National Forest
http://www.insidesocal.com/pasadenapoli ... to-th.html
"Hiking trails off Big Tujunga Canyon Road will be useless. The trail up to Strawberry Peak that starts near Mt. Wilson is burned.
The backside of Mt. Wilson is one of the few exceptions in the area. Firefighters did an amazing job protecting the area, and hiking trails down in the canyon next to it could still be intact. Another bright spot is Switzer Falls, an extremely popular picnic area low in the park. Though the fire burned hillsides on either side of the canyon it sits in, the canyon itself is still mostly intact, especially right in the picnic area. The hiking trails in the area may not be open for a while, though, as trees and boulders have rolled down the hills into the canyon.
Further up in the forest is a different story. Firefighters are still battling the blazes up there. One side of Mt. Waterman is burning, but the fire does not appear to be out of control. Higher peaks are still outside of the burn area.
The area below Waterman is a mixed bag. In the Devil's Canyon area, where there are several popular campgrounds, there are some trees left standing, and some burn areas..."
Altadena: Chaney trail/Sunset ridge pics
http://www.alicewessen.com/alice_sarkisian_wessen/
-photo gallery of post-Station fire while it lasts, also has a wildlife gallery(not Station fire)
not everyone happy with the forest service
blog: http://sgmountains.blogspot.com
short historical video : MtLowe railway http://sgmountains.blogspot.com/2009/09 ... ilway.html
youtube link:
LAFD Fail in the Station Fire
http://donnabarstow.com/park_blog/2009/ ... tion-fire/
fighterfighter writes back:"While everyone is entitled to their opinion – and some of yours are quite valid, I do hope that someday I can adequately convey that ‘Wings & Wheels’ don’t extinguish fires like these, firefighters do.
...."
California Fire Victims Complain of Favoritism
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/articl ... ctionId=46
"Voorhees, who was allowed to speak during the governor's news conference, and other neighbors whose homes were destroyed described watching small fires hover far up the canyon on Aug. 26 and 27 before they halved the distance by Aug. 28.
Then midday Saturday, Aug. 29, a wall of flame 100 feet high raced down Big Tujunga, leaving barely enough time for residents to flee.
They said there had been no firefighters or firefighting aircraft in sight. And they questioned whether some "congressional district" may have pressured firefighters to direct resources away from protecting homes valued upwards of $400,000 to instead safeguard houses valued in the millions(Palos Verde fire#1)."
Runners fight their way to the top of Mt. Baldy for 44th annual marathon
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13287467
"The Angeles National Forest was closed due to the Station Fire, but since the run has been happening for 44 years now, the runners were still allowed to go through, Mitchell said......The race is expected to bring in about $30,000, which will go to fund the Mt. Baldy Fire Department, Mt. Baldy Search and Rescue, West Valley Search and Rescue, and scholarships for students.The departments are all volunteers and not funded by taxpayers. The run is the only fundraiser Mt. Baldy town hall does all year. "
Burn area
http://watershednews.blogspot.com/2009/ ... -area.html
"Hazard technicians plan today to start field-checking images they received from the earth-observing LANDSAT satellite on Tuesday(Sept 8th), and they hope to have a final report and map ready for public safety agencies by next week, Cannon said."
Observations from trip into the Angeles National Forest
http://www.insidesocal.com/pasadenapoli ... to-th.html
"Hiking trails off Big Tujunga Canyon Road will be useless. The trail up to Strawberry Peak that starts near Mt. Wilson is burned.
The backside of Mt. Wilson is one of the few exceptions in the area. Firefighters did an amazing job protecting the area, and hiking trails down in the canyon next to it could still be intact. Another bright spot is Switzer Falls, an extremely popular picnic area low in the park. Though the fire burned hillsides on either side of the canyon it sits in, the canyon itself is still mostly intact, especially right in the picnic area. The hiking trails in the area may not be open for a while, though, as trees and boulders have rolled down the hills into the canyon.
Further up in the forest is a different story. Firefighters are still battling the blazes up there. One side of Mt. Waterman is burning, but the fire does not appear to be out of control. Higher peaks are still outside of the burn area.
The area below Waterman is a mixed bag. In the Devil's Canyon area, where there are several popular campgrounds, there are some trees left standing, and some burn areas..."
Altadena: Chaney trail/Sunset ridge pics
http://www.alicewessen.com/alice_sarkisian_wessen/
-photo gallery of post-Station fire while it lasts, also has a wildlife gallery(not Station fire)
not everyone happy with the forest service
blog: http://sgmountains.blogspot.com
short historical video : MtLowe railway http://sgmountains.blogspot.com/2009/09 ... ilway.html
youtube link:
LAFD Fail in the Station Fire
http://donnabarstow.com/park_blog/2009/ ... tion-fire/
fighterfighter writes back:"While everyone is entitled to their opinion – and some of yours are quite valid, I do hope that someday I can adequately convey that ‘Wings & Wheels’ don’t extinguish fires like these, firefighters do.
...."California Fire Victims Complain of Favoritism
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/articl ... ctionId=46
"Voorhees, who was allowed to speak during the governor's news conference, and other neighbors whose homes were destroyed described watching small fires hover far up the canyon on Aug. 26 and 27 before they halved the distance by Aug. 28.
Then midday Saturday, Aug. 29, a wall of flame 100 feet high raced down Big Tujunga, leaving barely enough time for residents to flee.
They said there had been no firefighters or firefighting aircraft in sight. And they questioned whether some "congressional district" may have pressured firefighters to direct resources away from protecting homes valued upwards of $400,000 to instead safeguard houses valued in the millions(Palos Verde fire#1)."
$25 million authorized to repair fire damage in Los Angeles County(entire article quoted)
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/c ... source=rss
"The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized the Department of Public Works to spend $25 million to repair damage from the Station Fire, Tuesday.
The money is intended to repair roadways and other infrastructure damaged in the Station Fire, according to a press release issued by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
"This action allows the County to fast-track repairs and minimize the risk of potential mudslides and floods in the aftermath of the fire," Spervisor Micheal Antonovich is quoted as saying in the press release.
According to the release, some 760 trees must be cleared, at least 95 guardrails need to be repaired and a construction site at Big Tujunga Dam seismic rehabilitation project needs minor work."
current conditions(photos)
MtWaterman
http://www.mtwaterman.org/images/mt-wat ... /index.htm
Brown Mtn/Altadena
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 05d8d1daf1
Upper Big Tujunga(incl Mt.Pacifico), Josephine's peak
, couple MtWaterman-ish pics
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost ... count=9023
A Giant Outdoor Hydrologic Lab(San Dimas Experimental Forest) pages 11-12
http://www.fs.fed.us/fstoday/2009/09071 ... part_2.pdf
"As it turned out, it doesn’t—steepness of slope and intensity of
rainfall make more of a difference in whether a slide will occur than the type of vegetation growing on the ground...A more promising treatment(erosion) is stream-channel barriers made of prefabricated log sections placed every 9–15 meters (30–50 feet) along a channel. “We found they worked great,” says Wohlgemuth. “They reduced erosion down at the debris basin tremendously, and eventually they’ll biodegrade"
Search still on for attackers of Forest Service worker
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_13308703
"LYTLE CREEK - Sheriff's investigators are looking for two men who beat a 63-year-old U.S. Forest Service employee unconscious when he wrote them a warning citation at a Lytle Creek campground.....The incident occurred Aug. 31 at the Applewhite picnic area and campground in Lytle Creek, about three to five miles north on Lytle Creek Road from the 15 Freeway.The victim, who was patrolling the area, came to the campground and saw a Nissan Altima parked illegally.
The employee approached Moratalla and began to issue a warning citation when Moratalla punched him, sheriff's officials said. The victim fell to the ground and was punched and kicked by Moratalla and two other men.
The employee lost consciousness during the attack, but a family who was at the campground saw the men roll over the victim and go through his pockets....."
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/c ... source=rss
"The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized the Department of Public Works to spend $25 million to repair damage from the Station Fire, Tuesday.
The money is intended to repair roadways and other infrastructure damaged in the Station Fire, according to a press release issued by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
"This action allows the County to fast-track repairs and minimize the risk of potential mudslides and floods in the aftermath of the fire," Spervisor Micheal Antonovich is quoted as saying in the press release.
According to the release, some 760 trees must be cleared, at least 95 guardrails need to be repaired and a construction site at Big Tujunga Dam seismic rehabilitation project needs minor work."
current conditions(photos)
MtWaterman
http://www.mtwaterman.org/images/mt-wat ... /index.htm
Brown Mtn/Altadena
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... 05d8d1daf1
Upper Big Tujunga(incl Mt.Pacifico), Josephine's peak
, couple MtWaterman-ish pics
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost ... count=9023
A Giant Outdoor Hydrologic Lab(San Dimas Experimental Forest) pages 11-12
http://www.fs.fed.us/fstoday/2009/09071 ... part_2.pdf
"As it turned out, it doesn’t—steepness of slope and intensity of
rainfall make more of a difference in whether a slide will occur than the type of vegetation growing on the ground...A more promising treatment(erosion) is stream-channel barriers made of prefabricated log sections placed every 9–15 meters (30–50 feet) along a channel. “We found they worked great,” says Wohlgemuth. “They reduced erosion down at the debris basin tremendously, and eventually they’ll biodegrade"
Search still on for attackers of Forest Service worker
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_13308703
"LYTLE CREEK - Sheriff's investigators are looking for two men who beat a 63-year-old U.S. Forest Service employee unconscious when he wrote them a warning citation at a Lytle Creek campground.....The incident occurred Aug. 31 at the Applewhite picnic area and campground in Lytle Creek, about three to five miles north on Lytle Creek Road from the 15 Freeway.The victim, who was patrolling the area, came to the campground and saw a Nissan Altima parked illegally.
The employee approached Moratalla and began to issue a warning citation when Moratalla punched him, sheriff's officials said. The victim fell to the ground and was punched and kicked by Moratalla and two other men.
The employee lost consciousness during the attack, but a family who was at the campground saw the men roll over the victim and go through his pockets....."
San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study
http://www.corbamtb.com/issues/Misc/San ... tudy.shtml
Concerned off-road bicyclists summary of NPS/Angeles Forest inital meeting
"There is a comment period on the current presentation through October 30th. At the above web site, click on "Newsletter 4" then click on the "Comment on Document" link on the left side of the screen"
Eaton Canyon is open
http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/09/eat ... -open.html
"The National Forest area remains closed. ......Fire crews have stopped accessing Park trails and staging at the Park."
historical :Hwy39 and GMR car racing
or as its techincal term "touge"
note: Glendora Mountain Ridge road blogspot reports 17 deaths, 100 accidents on the road this year.
Canyon drivers test their luck-2003
http://zilvia.net/f/off-topic-chat/4016 ... paper.html
"By Diana L. Roemer
Staff Writer
ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- "Run, run, run in the canyon we run' is the platform of car lovers who zip around canyon roads under moonlit skies.....Police say they know canyon racing goes on and monitor it as best they can, said Art Acevedo, California Highway Patrol assistant chief."
Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) - County Gonna Close It Again? -also 2003
http://www.labusas.org/forum/archive/in ... 34662.html
"ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- The county is considering closing Glendora Mountain Road following a recent traffic fatality, officials said.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich opened an investigation into accidents and deaths on the 15-mile-long mountain road, after 17-year-old Johnny Diaz of Azusa was killed Sept. 21.
‘‘When the supervisor has all the information and recommendations, he will make a decision in the interest of public safety,'' said Tony Bell, Antonovich's communications director.
Diaz was a passenger in a Honda driven by another 17-year-old when the car veered off the road and plunged 380 feet down a canyon 9.8 miles above the Valley around midnight.
Since about 1980, at least 13 deaths and more than 60 accidents have been reported on the road, which travels north into the Angeles National Forest from Sierra Madre Boulevard near Valley Center Avenue in Glendora.
In the past two months, four cars have gone off the road, said David Smail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Search and Rescue coordinator.
The road has been closed at least twice before, once in 1986 due to complaints of reckless driving and during repairs after the September 2002 Curve Fire.
Bell said county public works and law enforcement are assessing the road to determine what could contribute to a high level of accidents on it.
Diaz's mother, Lourdes Diaz, said the road should be closed on weekends to protect teens who want to drive it.
‘‘That will be the least that we would want, if not close it permanently,'' she said.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Worthington said the CHP would accommodate the county's investigation.
‘‘Obviously, the Highway Patrol is concerned with the engineering of our highways to make sure they are as safe as possible for the motoring public,'' Worthington said.
CHP officials have said any problems on Glendora Mountain Road are typically the result of poor driver behavior, not the road, and such problems happen on all mountainous, curved roads.
But Glendora resident Ed Knapp calls the road a veritable raceway.
Knapp, who runs with the Glendora Ridge Runners club, said motorcyclists ‘‘buzz'' the group and often speed along.
Nearly 200 motorcycles flooded the road the first day it was reopened in August, he said. ‘‘We were really, really scared. We have seen so much carnage up there -- kids down on motorcycles ... skid marks ... it's pathetic. On weekends, it's a three-ring circus up there,'' Knapp said.
Diana L. Roemer can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105, or by e-mail at diana.roemer@sgvn.com"
http://www.corbamtb.com/issues/Misc/San ... tudy.shtml
Concerned off-road bicyclists summary of NPS/Angeles Forest inital meeting
"There is a comment period on the current presentation through October 30th. At the above web site, click on "Newsletter 4" then click on the "Comment on Document" link on the left side of the screen"
Eaton Canyon is open
http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/09/eat ... -open.html
"The National Forest area remains closed. ......Fire crews have stopped accessing Park trails and staging at the Park."
historical :Hwy39 and GMR car racing
or as its techincal term "touge"
note: Glendora Mountain Ridge road blogspot reports 17 deaths, 100 accidents on the road this year.
Canyon drivers test their luck-2003
http://zilvia.net/f/off-topic-chat/4016 ... paper.html
"By Diana L. Roemer
Staff Writer
ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- "Run, run, run in the canyon we run' is the platform of car lovers who zip around canyon roads under moonlit skies.....Police say they know canyon racing goes on and monitor it as best they can, said Art Acevedo, California Highway Patrol assistant chief."
Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) - County Gonna Close It Again? -also 2003
http://www.labusas.org/forum/archive/in ... 34662.html
"ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- The county is considering closing Glendora Mountain Road following a recent traffic fatality, officials said.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich opened an investigation into accidents and deaths on the 15-mile-long mountain road, after 17-year-old Johnny Diaz of Azusa was killed Sept. 21.
‘‘When the supervisor has all the information and recommendations, he will make a decision in the interest of public safety,'' said Tony Bell, Antonovich's communications director.
Diaz was a passenger in a Honda driven by another 17-year-old when the car veered off the road and plunged 380 feet down a canyon 9.8 miles above the Valley around midnight.
Since about 1980, at least 13 deaths and more than 60 accidents have been reported on the road, which travels north into the Angeles National Forest from Sierra Madre Boulevard near Valley Center Avenue in Glendora.
In the past two months, four cars have gone off the road, said David Smail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Search and Rescue coordinator.
The road has been closed at least twice before, once in 1986 due to complaints of reckless driving and during repairs after the September 2002 Curve Fire.
Bell said county public works and law enforcement are assessing the road to determine what could contribute to a high level of accidents on it.
Diaz's mother, Lourdes Diaz, said the road should be closed on weekends to protect teens who want to drive it.
‘‘That will be the least that we would want, if not close it permanently,'' she said.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Worthington said the CHP would accommodate the county's investigation.
‘‘Obviously, the Highway Patrol is concerned with the engineering of our highways to make sure they are as safe as possible for the motoring public,'' Worthington said.
CHP officials have said any problems on Glendora Mountain Road are typically the result of poor driver behavior, not the road, and such problems happen on all mountainous, curved roads.
But Glendora resident Ed Knapp calls the road a veritable raceway.
Knapp, who runs with the Glendora Ridge Runners club, said motorcyclists ‘‘buzz'' the group and often speed along.
Nearly 200 motorcycles flooded the road the first day it was reopened in August, he said. ‘‘We were really, really scared. We have seen so much carnage up there -- kids down on motorcycles ... skid marks ... it's pathetic. On weekends, it's a three-ring circus up there,'' Knapp said.
Diana L. Roemer can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2105, or by e-mail at diana.roemer@sgvn.com"
I remember that article from 2003.
FWIW, 'Touge' is a Japanese word that literally means "Mountain Pass". Baldy Notch is a Touge, so is Cow Canyon Saddle, Icehouse Saddle, etc. The word more or less does equate to these roads, but it's used far too heavilly, and people use it as a verb, etc.
Also, driving in the mountains costs gas. A track day (one day) can cost several hundred dollars, plus tires, and gas, and whatever else happens. Rich man's sport. Not many rich men run.
Argh on the rest.
FWIW, 'Touge' is a Japanese word that literally means "Mountain Pass". Baldy Notch is a Touge, so is Cow Canyon Saddle, Icehouse Saddle, etc. The word more or less does equate to these roads, but it's used far too heavilly, and people use it as a verb, etc.
Also, driving in the mountains costs gas. A track day (one day) can cost several hundred dollars, plus tires, and gas, and whatever else happens. Rich man's sport. Not many rich men run.
Argh on the rest.
Above: Deukmejian Wilderness Park (Glendale)...remains closed for now
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/Parks/deuk ... s_park.asp
misc news Station fire video awards
first place)
Station Fire Compilation - August 28-30, 2009 9mins+
second place)
Los Angeles Wild Fire September 2009 Station Fire(compliation of video and photos) 5 mins+
honorable mention)
Station Fire(I think this is actually defending the Big Tujunga dam area structures,not the entrance to the canyon as labeled) 6 mins+
How will the L.A. Wildfires affect the San Gabriel Mountain Wilderness?
http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news/ ... rness.html
"Despite being so close to LA, the San Gabriel mountains support some of the greatest biodiversity in the USA,” says Raphael Mazor, a biologist in Southern California currently studying fire impacts on water quality. Four wilderness areas exist in the region, with the San Gabriel Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest most directly affected by this blaze. “[There are] tons of micro-endemic plants up there. As for animals: California red-legged frog, Santa Ana sucker, arroyo chub, bighorn sheep, two-lined garter snake, San Gabriel Mountains slender salamander, and I'm sure several rodents and bat species.”.....In fact it's a common misconception that the frequent fires occurring in the region help clear out the brush. Even the Angeles National Forest forest supervisor Jody Noiron said on a Los Angeles NBC affiliate last Sunday that the chaparral needed to burn every 10 to 15 years, which is simply wrong. Intense fires like this would historically burn once every 50 to 100 years. "
Frick. Looks like the old oaks in Deukmejian are (if you'll excuse the expression) toast.AW wrote:
Above: Deukmejian Wilderness Park (Glendale)...remains closed for now
http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/Parks/deuk ... s_park.asp
Kinda sad when even the USFS doesn't know something as basic as how often a forest would normally burn.AW wrote:How will the L.A. Wildfires affect the San Gabriel Mountain Wilderness?
http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news/ ... rness.html
"Despite being so close to LA, the San Gabriel mountains support some of the greatest biodiversity in the USA,” says Raphael Mazor, a biologist in Southern California currently studying fire impacts on water quality. Four wilderness areas exist in the region, with the San Gabriel Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest most directly affected by this blaze. “[There are] tons of micro-endemic plants up there. As for animals: California red-legged frog, Santa Ana sucker, arroyo chub, bighorn sheep, two-lined garter snake, San Gabriel Mountains slender salamander, and I'm sure several rodents and bat species.”.....In fact it's a common misconception that the frequent fires occurring in the region help clear out the brush. Even the Angeles National Forest forest supervisor Jody Noiron said on a Los Angeles NBC affiliate last Sunday that the chaparral needed to burn every 10 to 15 years, which is simply wrong. Intense fires like this would historically burn once every 50 to 100 years. "
Oak trees, Big Cone Douglas Firs, etc. aren't going to grow in an area that burns every 10 - 15 years. Fire is a natural part of the life cycle of this area, but over centuries not decades. It takes hundreds of years for an area of chaparral to go through a full cycle. More frequent fires are very destructive and will result in the loss of animal and plant species.
I hope they had that quote wrong...its unbelievable almost...well put another way, if its a correct quote, then why hasnt the Angeles been burning up the chapparal?Hikin_Jim wrote:Kinda sad when even the USFS doesn't know something as basic as how often a forest would normally burn.AW wrote:How will the L.A. Wildfires affect the San Gabriel Mountain Wilderness?
http://blogs.discovery.com/animal_news/ ... rness.html
"Despite being so close to LA, the San Gabriel mountains support some of the greatest biodiversity in the USA,” says Raphael Mazor, a biologist in Southern California currently studying fire impacts on water quality. Four wilderness areas exist in the region, with the San Gabriel Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest most directly affected by this blaze. “[There are] tons of micro-endemic plants up there. As for animals: California red-legged frog, Santa Ana sucker, arroyo chub, bighorn sheep, two-lined garter snake, San Gabriel Mountains slender salamander, and I'm sure several rodents and bat species.”.....In fact it's a common misconception that the frequent fires occurring in the region help clear out the brush. Even the Angeles National Forest forest supervisor Jody Noiron said on a Los Angeles NBC affiliate last Sunday that the chaparral needed to burn every 10 to 15 years, which is simply wrong. Intense fires like this would historically burn once every 50 to 100 years. "
Oak trees, Big Cone Douglas Firs, etc. aren't going to grow in an area that burns every 10 - 15 years. Fire is a natural part of the life cycle of this area, but over centuries not decades. It takes hundreds of years for an area of chaparral to go through a full cycle. More frequent fires are very destructive and will result in the loss of animal and plant species.
One subject that I have been digging for info is phos-chex...specifically, will it be safe to filter water in the burn area? The manufacturer's website said it was environmentally friendly but also that it affects life in the ecosystem.....the LA county website says "the chemical retardant (Phos-Chek) is up to ten times more toxic,depending upon the grade, than the herbicides used in the flood control infastrctue vegetation management program."
source: http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/37170.pdf
Call me paranoid, but if it ever opens again, I think I'll just drink bottled water.
As far as reopening, speculators can follow along at
http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewt ... 810#p61718
with a possible reopening of the Angeles Crest to the AFH(all the way to Palmdale) 4-6 weeks away....
Eww. That is so not good. Still, the amount of Phos-Chek per given area has got to be small, much of that will be filtered out by the soil, and rain would continue to disperse it even more thereafter. I think. If you come up with some good, relavant info, I'd be most interested.AW wrote:One subject that I have been digging for info is phos-chex...specifically, will it be safe to filter water in the burn area? The manufacturer's website said it was environmentally friendly but also that it affects life in the ecosystem.....the LA county website says "the chemical retardant (Phos-Chek) is up to ten times more toxic,depending upon the grade, than the herbicides used in the flood control infastrctue vegetation management program."
source: http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/37170.pdf
Call me paranoid, but if it ever opens again, I think I'll just drink bottled water.
And probably closing the first rain (think mudslide) thereafter. Let's hope I'm wrong on that last part.AW wrote:As far as reopening, speculators can follow along at
http://forums.mammothmountain.com/viewt ... 810#p61718
with a possible reopening of the Angeles Crest to the AFH(all the way to Palmdale) 4-6 weeks away....
Huge California wildfire on verge of containment
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD9ATSU600
"The fire burned away traffic signs and wooden posts holding up guardrails along forest highways with perilously steep dropoffs. Boulders rolling off bare mountainsides require trucks with plows to constantly patrol to keep roads clear for work crews and repair vehicles.The California Department of Transportation has already put out $12 million in emergency contracts for urgent work such as replacing guardrails — using metal posts this time.....Freeman said all the work will take about five weeks, keeping the forest closed to the public until it's complete."
Several injured in Mt. Baldy traffic collision
http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_13 ... source=rss
"Six people were injured Saturday afternoon during a traffic collision on Mt. Baldy Road.
Firefighters and California Highway Patrol officers responded at 4:35 p.m. to the 6800 block of Mt. Baldy Road near the Buckhorn Lodge & Restaurant, according to a dispatch supervisor with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Five people were taken to local hospitals by ambulances while a sixth was airlifted. The conditions of the patients were not immediately available."
Note: comments section mention more accurate description was van losing its breaks and people jumping for their lives...."
National public lands day Sat Sept 26th
http://www.publiclandsday.org
There are a couple listed for the Angeles Forest, but site's last updated date is unknown(could have been pre-Station fire).
Historical: Eaton canyon
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf1 ... brand=oac4
Historical: Old Baldy, 1913
http://glendorahistory.blogspot.com/200 ... baldy.html
"The Serrano knew it as any number of words: Jóaka’j, Juáka, Joakaits, and Hesakkopa; the Gabrielino called it Juáka’j and Hifá’do and also referred to it as Yoát, which means snow; the Luiseño knew it as Hifá’doyah; while the Cauhilla called it as Hifá’doga and the Mohave named it Avii Kwatiinyam....in 1841, at the height of his own power in the Los Angeles area, Antonio Maria Lugo christened the tallest mountain he had ever seen Mount San Antonio after Saint Antonio of Padua......About this time, at least it was reported in an 1871 edition of the Los Angeles Star, people started to refer to Mount San Antonio as Mt. Baldy and Old Baldy. "
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD9ATSU600
"The fire burned away traffic signs and wooden posts holding up guardrails along forest highways with perilously steep dropoffs. Boulders rolling off bare mountainsides require trucks with plows to constantly patrol to keep roads clear for work crews and repair vehicles.The California Department of Transportation has already put out $12 million in emergency contracts for urgent work such as replacing guardrails — using metal posts this time.....Freeman said all the work will take about five weeks, keeping the forest closed to the public until it's complete."
Several injured in Mt. Baldy traffic collision
http://www.sbsun.com/breakingnews/ci_13 ... source=rss
"Six people were injured Saturday afternoon during a traffic collision on Mt. Baldy Road.
Firefighters and California Highway Patrol officers responded at 4:35 p.m. to the 6800 block of Mt. Baldy Road near the Buckhorn Lodge & Restaurant, according to a dispatch supervisor with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Five people were taken to local hospitals by ambulances while a sixth was airlifted. The conditions of the patients were not immediately available."
Note: comments section mention more accurate description was van losing its breaks and people jumping for their lives...."
National public lands day Sat Sept 26th
http://www.publiclandsday.org
There are a couple listed for the Angeles Forest, but site's last updated date is unknown(could have been pre-Station fire).
Historical: Eaton canyon
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf1 ... brand=oac4
Historical: Old Baldy, 1913
http://glendorahistory.blogspot.com/200 ... baldy.html
"The Serrano knew it as any number of words: Jóaka’j, Juáka, Joakaits, and Hesakkopa; the Gabrielino called it Juáka’j and Hifá’do and also referred to it as Yoát, which means snow; the Luiseño knew it as Hifá’doyah; while the Cauhilla called it as Hifá’doga and the Mohave named it Avii Kwatiinyam....in 1841, at the height of his own power in the Los Angeles area, Antonio Maria Lugo christened the tallest mountain he had ever seen Mount San Antonio after Saint Antonio of Padua......About this time, at least it was reported in an 1871 edition of the Los Angeles Star, people started to refer to Mount San Antonio as Mt. Baldy and Old Baldy. "
09/26/2009 09:26 Being in a closed area SGC east fork at bridge
09/26/2009 16:20 Fishing/Hiking Violations Jackson Lake & Arch Picnic Area
09/27/2009 09:40 3 Vehicles With Mountain Bikes Big Pines
09/27/2009 09:48 Recreating During Closure Table Mountain
09/27/2009 10:30 Hiking Inside Forest Closure Blue Ridge hiking trail
09/27/2009 14:14 Vehicle In Closure Lower San Antonio
09/27/2009 14:16 Being In Closure Area Mt Baldy
09/27/2009 14:57 Looting Big Tujunga Canyon
09/27/2009 16:37 Recreating In Closure Highway 39 mm 21.04
With care, the forest will live(BAER team)
http://mobile.latimes.com : requires article lookup
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_13432774
09/26/2009 16:20 Fishing/Hiking Violations Jackson Lake & Arch Picnic Area
09/27/2009 09:40 3 Vehicles With Mountain Bikes Big Pines
09/27/2009 09:48 Recreating During Closure Table Mountain
09/27/2009 10:30 Hiking Inside Forest Closure Blue Ridge hiking trail
09/27/2009 14:14 Vehicle In Closure Lower San Antonio
09/27/2009 14:16 Being In Closure Area Mt Baldy
09/27/2009 14:57 Looting Big Tujunga Canyon
09/27/2009 16:37 Recreating In Closure Highway 39 mm 21.04
With care, the forest will live(BAER team)
http://mobile.latimes.com : requires article lookup
Bear raids house in Mt. BaldyBrent Roath quickly recast the question. Yes, he agreed, the U.S. Forest Service scientists who have spent the last two weeks in the San Gabriel Mountains examining the effects of the Station fire are like forensic pathologists combing a crime scene.
Except in this case, the patient is still alive.
"We're more like doctors, and our patient is ill. We're trying to figure out how to make it better," said Roath, regional director of post-burn analysis and a 33-year Forest Service veteran.
Although the 45-member team's report will remain under wraps for some time, the preliminary findings are in: Don't pray for rain.
Using sophisticated burn maps generated by satellite imagery and factoring in the breathtaking steepness of the now-denuded hillsides, the scientists warn that even moderate winter rain could trigger landslides and catastrophic debris flows capable of inundating many of the San Gabriels' 37 foothill communities.
Beyond that, the scientists concluded that although 250 square miles of the Angeles National Forest burned, the trees and chaparral in the fire-adapted ecosystem will bounce back.
However, much of the wildlife that makes its home in the 655,000-acre forest was killed or dislocated. Biologists say they found an unusually high number of large animals caught by the fast-moving fire. Teams have come across carcasses of bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes and gray foxes, apparently unable to find escape routes.
"Deer took a big hit," said Kevin Cooper, a wildlife biologist.
The BAER team (for Burned Area Emergency Response) worked 14-hour days to complete its work, retreating each night to laptops at the "BAER Den," a Residence Inn conference room in Burbank.
Specialists were on the ground in every part of the 160,000-acre burn area, measuring, photographing and testing. The team included soil scientists, hydrologists, archaeologists, botanists, wildlife experts and a hazardous materials crew. The fire peeled back a layer of cover to reveal unknown Native American oven sites, scores of illegal dumps and a stash of 50-gallon drums filled with an as-yet unidentified liquid.
One day last week, Roath steered a white Forest Service SUV up the Angeles Crest Highway, which was closed to the public but nonetheless busy. Crews used graders to clear boulders, semi-tractor-trailers hauled debris and workers with chain saws cut trees that threatened to fall across traffic lanes.
Overhead, helicopters carried water-dropping buckets or ferried dangling loads of replacement utility poles.
For the most part, the landscape was devoid of color. Gray-white ash has banked in places, like dandruff on the shoulders of the mountains. Roath, a soil scientist who began his Forest Service career on the Angeles, is still awed by the immense natural forces once marshaled to lift this mountain range that is still rising and settling.
He noted that debris cones -- accumulated rock and sand at the bottom of sharply defined ridges -- are sprouting up everywhere, as though the mountains are shedding dead skin.
The San Gabriel Mountains have the potential to unleash calamity under normal circumstances, without the overlay of fire to complicate things. They are mountains on the move; the rock is fractured and disintegrating.
Roath said that as BAER team members collected their data, they could hear the rattling sound of mountains falling.
"In some cases boulders are coming down from gravity alone. They don't need rain," Roath said.
Vegetation plays a critical role in shoring up hillsides. When rains come, the drops hit the plant canopy first, which slows the water and distributes it more evenly into the soil. Absent vegetation, rain pounds down and washes away topsoil, sand, small rocks and burned plant material.
Thus begins a process that scientists call "entraining" -- the terrible freight of broken mountainside that gathers energy as it roars inexorably downhill.
Storms cause sediment to back up in ravines already loaded with fire debris. The flow bulges and spreads, picking up larger stones, then boulders. It gains speed as it descends, blowing obstacles out of its way. That debris, too, joins the train. As highway culverts become full, the entire river of rock flows over the roadway, collapsing it.
The broken asphalt then becomes a passenger on the cascading wreckage.
Trees, automobiles and houses scarcely slow the torrent.
"Debris flows are a little hard to control," said Sue Cannon, a debris flow expert with the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, adding that the San Gabriels present a "classic setting for major debris flow."
Along the upper Big Tujunga Road, fire appeared to have followed the drainage, burning trees that straddled the creek, leaving "a pretty well-toasted riparian area," said Jan Beyers, a Forest Service plant ecologist.
Cooper, the wildlife biologist, noted that the Station fire took out trees along the streams, such as white alder. Large trees are like straws, sucking water from rivers and streams, and in their absence, he said, there has been a measurable increase in stream levels in the Angeles National Forest.
Elsewhere along the road, a row of roasted pine trees offered clues to the fire's behavior. Their brown needles point sideways, petrified at an acute angle, like a heavily gelled hairdo. This, the scientists explained, is an example of "fire freeze," the result of a hot wind blasting through, wringing the last drop of moisture out of the tree.
Where some see withered plants and scoured hillsides, Beyers sees decades of patient aspiration come to fruition -- the "shooters and seeders."
Trees that have lost limbs to fire will grow new, sturdier arms. Plants that have been annually depositing seeds in subterranean "seed banks" will be rewarded with young growth rising out of soil rejuvenated with nitrogen-bearing nutrients.
"There are seeds in the soil here that have been waiting decades for this chance," she said wistfully.
Indeed, for some growing things, fire is a bonanza. Certain species of conifers require heat to release seeds from their tightly closed cones. Some plants need the fire's heat to crack hard seed coatings in order to sprout. Some plants thrive on the chemicals produced from ash leaching into soil. Smaller bushes, crowded out by larger neighbors before the fire, flourish afterward in their newfound elbow room.
The seed caches of ground-dwelling rodents will be disinterred, and the still-viable seeds dispersed by ants and birds, everyone pitching in to repair their habitat.
In the San Gabriels' chaparral system, more plants survive fire than most people think, Beyers said. That's explained, in part, because of "fire residence," or the length of time that flames and heat linger in a particular spot. Chaparral plant communities don't produce a lot of leaf litter or vegetation that accumulates on the ground, which would become fuel for fires.
Then there is the profusion of wildflowers that will debut in the spring. The fire followers: purple lupines, morning glories, California poppies, larkspurs, wild sweet peas and snapdragons.
"Ten years from now," Beyers said, taking in the charred hillside and smiling, "you can come back here and never know there was a fire at all."
julie.cart@latimes.com
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_13432774
"MT. BALDY - Several "no trespassing" signs are posted on the trees crowning over a road leading up to Brant's residence.
But they have done little to deter a small black bear from wandering onto the 23-acre ranch almost nightly this summer.
"I heard him (Sept. 17) in the laundry room," Ed Brant said. "He smelled the cat food we keep in the cabinet. They are usually not that aggressive."
As Brant and his wife Patti settled in for the night, the bear came down the hill, looking for a snack.
He pushed his way into a small room near Brant's kitchen, but once the outside door closed behind him, he didn't know how to get out.
And that's when the demolition party began.
"He lifted the floor panels, tore off window frames, scratched out the kitchen door, pottied all over," Brant said. "He did $20,000 worth of damage."
The bear finally managed to break a small side window and crawl out back into the woods.
The family's dog slept through it all.
Bear visits aren't a surprise to the Brants, Patti said.
"Several years ago, bears got into the fridge and took the ice cream," Ed Brant said. "They ate it right outside and left the container."
On other occasions, he would spot bears near his workshop or trying to pull trash out of the "dipsy Dumpster."
Bears usually stay away from humans and are easily shooed away.
"I don't worry about them except for the damage," he said.
Brant has a small pond on the north side of his property, which he thinks bears stop by when they get thirsty. He also attributes their more frequent visits to a lack of natural food resources.
"It's been very dry," he said. "Berry trees have all dried up."
Brant has consulted state's Department of Fish and Game about the ways to get rid of the bear, but it looks like the unwelcomed visitor is there to stay.
"They said `We have so many bears and we take them out (relocate) periodically, but there is always another one right back in line,"' Brant said.
Openings...
Hwy39,Glendora Mountain Road,Glendora Ridge Road
http://glendoramtnroad.blogspot.com/
"The road(GMR) from mile marker 14.00 to 9.45 has some large patches of dust like sand. As vehicles travel through the silt, dust clouds shroud the visibility. Beyond mile marker 9.06 in the dead zone, rocks are free to fall from the hillside since the vegetation no longer keeps them bound."
Hwy39(but for now..." 1-WAY CONTROLLED TRAFFIC FROM 11.5 MI SOUTH TO 0.5 MI SOUTH OF THE
COLDBROOK RANGER STATION (LOS ANGELES CO) FROM 0700 HRS TO 1800 HRS 7 DAYS A
WEEK THRU 10/15/09 - DUE TO EMERGENCY REPAIRS ")
Navy plans to remove some, but not all contamination from Morris Dam
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_13485814
"For 50 years the waters behind Morris Dam were used to test Navy torpedoes. Now the Navy is dealing with the environmental costs of that top secret operation. Arsenic, perchlorate and other contaminants are all that remain from the 20-acre Navy facilities that occupied a peninsula in middle of the reservoir. Navy operations there ceased in 1993...."
Woman's body recovered from wreck near Morris Dam
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13473115
"ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Search and rescue divers in Morris Dam Friday recovered the body of a woman who may have driven off the side of Highway 39, officials said.
The woman, who was not identified, was still wearing her seatbelt in the driver's seat of a vehicle that appeared to be a Ford when she was pulled from the wreck, officials said."
San Gabes front country stoke
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/t ... stoke.html
A ride from Sam Merrill to Eaton incl some pictures
Note: Not sure, but perhaps this ride went through a closed area(Inspiration Point to MtWilson toll road)
Millard Canyon:
EL Prieto trail
After a Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects
Photo: West Fork San Gabriel river west of Cogswell dam
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/scien ... ted=1&_r=1
"A multiagency team of state and federal forest and wildlife representatives removed a colony of mountain yellow-legged tadpoles, endangered in Southern California, from a tributary of the San Gabriel River before rock and debris unleashed by fall and winter rains imperil their creekside habitat......Already, scientists have found that ash particles in the streams can shred the fish’s gills and drive up the water’s alkalinity, possibly affecting reproduction and setting the stage for die-offs"
Pasadena's Hernandez back to playing football after death of a friend
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13459009
"After enjoying the hilltop views(Eaton Canyon-Razorback ridge area) and fresh air, Hernandez and Beristain headed down.
"I noticed we were going straight down instead of zigzagging like we were supposed to," Hernandez said.
The dirt wasn't stable. Rocks were rolling down. Beristain, about seven feet ahead of Hernandez, slipped and started sliding down ... and sliding fast. Hernandez grabbed onto a twig and called to his friend.
"Artu ... " But Beristain was gone. He'd fallen about 200 feet to his death.
Hernandez remembers sprinting down the hill looking for his friend.
"But looking back, I don't think I could have sprinted," he said. "It was just too steep."
But that's what he remembers, sprinting to save his friend. Hernandez found him, hunched over a tree, his blue polo shirt soaked in blood.
Hernandez held Beristain in his arms, begged him to wake up.
Nothing. "
Hwy39,Glendora Mountain Road,Glendora Ridge Road
http://glendoramtnroad.blogspot.com/
"The road(GMR) from mile marker 14.00 to 9.45 has some large patches of dust like sand. As vehicles travel through the silt, dust clouds shroud the visibility. Beyond mile marker 9.06 in the dead zone, rocks are free to fall from the hillside since the vegetation no longer keeps them bound."
Hwy39(but for now..." 1-WAY CONTROLLED TRAFFIC FROM 11.5 MI SOUTH TO 0.5 MI SOUTH OF THE
COLDBROOK RANGER STATION (LOS ANGELES CO) FROM 0700 HRS TO 1800 HRS 7 DAYS A
WEEK THRU 10/15/09 - DUE TO EMERGENCY REPAIRS ")
Navy plans to remove some, but not all contamination from Morris Dam
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_13485814
"For 50 years the waters behind Morris Dam were used to test Navy torpedoes. Now the Navy is dealing with the environmental costs of that top secret operation. Arsenic, perchlorate and other contaminants are all that remain from the 20-acre Navy facilities that occupied a peninsula in middle of the reservoir. Navy operations there ceased in 1993...."
Woman's body recovered from wreck near Morris Dam
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_13473115
"ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Search and rescue divers in Morris Dam Friday recovered the body of a woman who may have driven off the side of Highway 39, officials said.
The woman, who was not identified, was still wearing her seatbelt in the driver's seat of a vehicle that appeared to be a Ford when she was pulled from the wreck, officials said."
San Gabes front country stoke
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/t ... stoke.html
A ride from Sam Merrill to Eaton incl some pictures
Note: Not sure, but perhaps this ride went through a closed area(Inspiration Point to MtWilson toll road)
Millard Canyon:
EL Prieto trail
After a Devastating Fire, an Intense Study of Its Effects
Photo: West Fork San Gabriel river west of Cogswell dam
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/scien ... ted=1&_r=1
"A multiagency team of state and federal forest and wildlife representatives removed a colony of mountain yellow-legged tadpoles, endangered in Southern California, from a tributary of the San Gabriel River before rock and debris unleashed by fall and winter rains imperil their creekside habitat......Already, scientists have found that ash particles in the streams can shred the fish’s gills and drive up the water’s alkalinity, possibly affecting reproduction and setting the stage for die-offs"
Pasadena's Hernandez back to playing football after death of a friend
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13459009
"After enjoying the hilltop views(Eaton Canyon-Razorback ridge area) and fresh air, Hernandez and Beristain headed down.
"I noticed we were going straight down instead of zigzagging like we were supposed to," Hernandez said.
The dirt wasn't stable. Rocks were rolling down. Beristain, about seven feet ahead of Hernandez, slipped and started sliding down ... and sliding fast. Hernandez grabbed onto a twig and called to his friend.
"Artu ... " But Beristain was gone. He'd fallen about 200 feet to his death.
Hernandez remembers sprinting down the hill looking for his friend.
"But looking back, I don't think I could have sprinted," he said. "It was just too steep."
But that's what he remembers, sprinting to save his friend. Hernandez found him, hunched over a tree, his blue polo shirt soaked in blood.
Hernandez held Beristain in his arms, begged him to wake up.
Nothing. "
Cutting switchbacks = DEATHAW wrote: "I noticed we were going straight down instead of zigzagging like we were supposed to," Hernandez said.
The dirt wasn't stable. Rocks were rolling down. Beristain, about seven feet ahead of Hernandez, slipped and started sliding down ... and sliding fast. Hernandez grabbed onto a twig and called to his friend.
"Artu ... " But Beristain was gone. He'd fallen about 200 feet to his death.
Nunc est bibendum
He road the Idlehour trail from Inspiration Point to Mt. Wilson Toll Road. That trail is the boundary of the closure area. He's my heroAW wrote:San Gabes front country stoke
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/t ... stoke.html
A ride from Sam Merrill to Eaton incl some pictures
Note: Not sure, but perhaps this ride went through a closed area(Inspiration Point to MtWilson toll road)
She was identified as Katrina Elias, dying of blunt force trauma. So looks like she died before hitting the water...time of day not factually stated, but CBS had said it was at night..so Hwy39 at night, fast speeds..hmm....
West Fork SG river 10/11/09
http://justanotherjoe.smugmug.com/Hobbi ... 6317_nYGuC
hmm: 10/11/2009 15:25 Visitors Inside Closure West Fork
Rancho Cucamonga ups the cost of parking tickets
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_13517150
"The city voted to change the parking ticket fees, or the parking enforcement schedule, from $30 to $50 on most tickets.....The city approved its first such district on Wednesday in a neighborhood near the mouth of Cucamonga Canyon, where residents say the streets have been inundated by visitors to the nearby creek.
To ease the problem, the city is creating parking spaces along Almond Street in addition to approving the permit parking system on the streets of Skyline Road, Inspiration Drive, Crestview Place and Crestview Court. Only residents and their guests with the proper stickers will be allowed to park on the aforementioned streets at all times..... "
Evacuation Warning- Tujunga Canyon Residents
http://www.thefoothillsforum.com/forum/ ... =1&p=62231
"Temporary Permit Suspension for October 13-14, 2009 Storm Event...."
Resorts ready for busy winter season
http://www.lacanadaonline.com/articles/ ... 101509.txt
"Kelly Markham, a public information officer for Caltrans, said Wednesday that Angeles Crest Highway is scheduled to be reopened in early November. ...The rainstorm this week caused some minor erosion, she noted, but not enough to delay the reopening of the highway."
Note: There were some misleading news reports that some of the closed roads had reopened ..not to thru traffic yet though of course.
Historical:Mystery History -- Solved(Hahamongna Watershed Park - Arroyo Seco)
http://pasadenapio.blogspot.com/2009/10 ... ed_15.html
"Benjamin Eaton named the gorge Devil’s Gate because of the stone formation that looked like a devil's profile, right down to the horns.
Eaton, a visionary engineer and later a district attorney and judge, was a founding resident of the Indiana Colony who designed pipelines between 1865 and 1874 that brought water southward from Devil’s Gate and the canyon now named after him, making possible the eventual development of Pasadena"
Yosemite Falls: thee authoritative video
http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedi ... efalls.htm
http://www.lacanadaonline.com/articles/ ... 101509.txt
"Kelly Markham, a public information officer for Caltrans, said Wednesday that Angeles Crest Highway is scheduled to be reopened in early November. ...The rainstorm this week caused some minor erosion, she noted, but not enough to delay the reopening of the highway."
Note: There were some misleading news reports that some of the closed roads had reopened
..not to thru traffic yet though of course.Historical:Mystery History -- Solved(Hahamongna Watershed Park - Arroyo Seco)
http://pasadenapio.blogspot.com/2009/10 ... ed_15.html
"Benjamin Eaton named the gorge Devil’s Gate because of the stone formation that looked like a devil's profile, right down to the horns.
Eaton, a visionary engineer and later a district attorney and judge, was a founding resident of the Indiana Colony who designed pipelines between 1865 and 1874 that brought water southward from Devil’s Gate and the canyon now named after him, making possible the eventual development of Pasadena"
Yosemite Falls: thee authoritative video
http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedi ... efalls.htm