Bridge Fire

[dima]

Old RV park at Cow Canyon saddle probably burned. And Thompson Ranch. Iron Fork below where the two forks split burned; above, it did not.

[dima]

East Fork rd and GMR (both sides) are fine, except the teeny bit at their junction at Cattle Cyn. Most of GRR very burned.

[dima]

Here's the sensed burn map all by itself:

false.png

[HikeUp]

Rattlesnake and Iron are the 2 most "remote" peaks...will this ease the way?

My time up Rattlesnake in Dec 2008, the brush was thick but the trail was clear - I assume someone had brushed the trail at some point that year. I can envision a very difficult trudge otherwise. Now maybe it will be a cinch.

Looking south from near Rattlesnake Peak...do you see a trail? There was one, but???

IMG_2306.jpg

[Uncle Rico]

How many years do you suppose Rattlesnake will be closed off?

The over-under in Vegas is a decade.

Station Fire redux.

[Girl Hiker]

I climbed Rattlesnake, I think in 2015. Not sure if I did a TR anyways it was pretty clear. Not easy but a good steep climb with a few poodle dog bushes at the top.

[Sean]

It's been four years since the Bobcat Fire and everything has reopened except for Chantry, which reopens this October. So, my guess for the Bridge Fire area is three or four years, with Baldy and Mtn. High ski zones reopening sooner. Even after the Station Fire, areas were reopened within a few years, like the Strawberry Peak Trail. But so many trails were affected that it took many more years for crews to fix the pathways. In fact we still haven't finished restoring them all. It's different for trails in the high country, they rely more on sawyer crews clearing the dead trees, and less on trail crews fixing tread and clearing brush.

[nihaody]

Old RV park at Cow Canyon saddle probably burned. And Thompson Ranch. Iron Fork below where the two forks split burned; above, it did not.

https://recovery.lacounty.gov/bridgefire/

Looks like the RV park and its water tower burned and / or were damaged. Several structures at Thompson. It appears they're actively doing assessments (e.g. Thompson Ranch structures weren't on here initially) so I would expect more dots to pop up through the canyon.

[dima]

That is a VERY good link. Thanks. The remaining question mark is Widman Ranch, which isn't on that map (yet?) It's in a wider part of the canyon, so maybe it survived. If they're all gone, upper Coldwater Canyon becomes accessible, which would be excellent.

[Sean]

NewsPlus article by Don Fish Jr., who drove through Wrightwood yesterday. He gives a survey and provides photos.

[Sean]

Here's an LA Times article detailing all the trails that burned. I was able to read it via a FB link but you might need a subscription via normal browsers. Looks like Vincent Gap to Baden-Powell survived but the mine burned. Grassy Hollow visitor center burned, and the PCT along the Blue Ridge burned. I'm guessing we lost Blue Ridge and Guffy campgrounds, maybe Lupine too, which is a shame. The East Fork, of course, is pretty much toast to the Bridge to Nowhere.

[Uncle Rico]

CalFire has a pretty good 3D map of the burn and evacuation areas here:

https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.co ... b5e010e8d4

[nihaody]

That is a VERY good link. Thanks. The remaining question mark is Widman Ranch, which isn't on that map (yet?) It's in a wider part of the canyon, so maybe it survived. If they're all gone, upper Coldwater Canyon becomes accessible, which would be excellent.

Looks like the map has been updated.

[wesweswes]

On the positive side, the fire might have opened up paths that were previously too brushy. I wonder how many of the bigger trees survived.

[rdwieting]

https://recovery.lacounty.gov/bridgefire/ appears to show 5 structures destroyed at the Widman Ranch.

[406]

CalFire has a pretty good 3D map of the burn and evacuation areas here:

https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.co ... b5e010e8d4

thanks for the link. Glad the upper part of Mt BP did not burn.

[dima]

https://recovery.lacounty.gov/bridgefire/ appears to show 5 structures destroyed at the Widman Ranch.

Yeah. We'll see if all those people rebuild. It'll be a while

[ReFreshing]

Always disappointing to see your favorite areas affected... but the cycle continues.

[JeffH]

I walked up Potato Mountain yesterday and took this zoomed shot from the summit, it shows the large burn scar on the south flank of Baldy.

DSC00119.JPG

[HikeUp]

Seems that there is a new fire burning in the San Gabs...I see smoke to my east (I'm in Pasadena). Anyone know anything?

[Admin: merged topic "Oct 20, 2024 fire?"]

[David R]

I believe it is embers from the Bridge fire that got started up on Saturday with the Sana Ana winds.

[JeffH]

I believe it is embers from the Bridge fire that got started up on Saturday with the Sana Ana winds.

I read that too. We woke up yesterday to ashes all over the yards in Claremont.

[Slowest_Hiker]

Happened on this video of Blue Ridge campground. Grim.

[JeffH]

Happened on this video of Blue Ridge campground. Grim.

That's a lot of cutting already, I'm surprised. Considering it's no-fee and only six spaces I thought it would be mostly ignored until most everything else is cleaned up.

[Slowest_Hiker]

Maybe prioritized as part of keeping the road clear for access to the comm site?

[AW~]

The BAER team issued map

https://inciweb-prod-media-bucket.s3.us ... SHInsrv4Mk

[Matthew]

The last page shows the likelihood and intensity of debris flow after a rainstorm. Does that mean that the possibility of getting rich quick off of gold prospecting is possible?

[AW~]

From Shoemaker road(open):
east fork road open til Camp Williams store....with stop signs and not the closure sign.
eastern Rattlesnake peak is burnt (again), no signs at Shoemaker, so open.

In picture top of Iron Mountain good...and Heaton Flat campground..and restroom at parking lot... everything else crispy.
Including 1 truck at parking lot.

eastfork.jpg

[Uncle Rico]

Did you go up Rattlesnake AW?

[David R]

The roads are open since the USFS does not manage those but the closure for hiking is in effect until 12/31/25.