Firestorm in Carbon Canyon, Part IV

In places like Sleepy Hollow (as well as Olinda Village, Mountain View Estates and other neighboring communities within Carbon Canyon) there is a feeling of community not generally found "out there". We have Halloween, Easter, and Christmas programs, a fire safe council and neighborhood watch groups that have been active, and, within the canyon broadly, a women's club that is one of the few that survive in a world where joining organizations is really on the decline.

A near-disaster like last weekend's Triangle Complex fire shows that community spirit in Sleepy Hollow and adjacent areas comes together once again. Tonight, at the community center here, dozens of residents gathered to talk about their experiences, count their blessings, thank fire, police, and city officals, and watch an expanded version of the presentation by Jose Fernandez that I mentioned yesterday. In fact, Jose is selling copies of the DVD for $5 with all proceeds going directly to the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council. Anyone who sees this and is interested in getting a copy of these incredible professional images of the fire and the aftermath can contact me and I'll get you in touch with Jose.

Sleepy Hollow may have, to some people, an unsavory reputation, which might draw too heavily from the past or too narrowly from the actions of a minority of bad apples (of which there are certainly some), but the reality is that we do have a community of plenty of good people who look out for their neighbors and friends and share a common appreciation of the uniqueness of the neighborhood specifically and the canyon in general. Fortunately, every home in this community came out intact, a true testament to good planning, crack execution, and, yes, considerable luck.

Sleepy Hollow and Carbon Canyon have been through major fires several times over the decades and we've "lived to see another day." Tonight cemented my appreciation for this area and I hope to enjoy living here as long as the Canyon remains livable (and there's more than fire that poses a threat there!)

The photos above are, top to bottom, from Saturday afternoon about 1:00 p.m. from my house looking toward the Brea fire; Saturday at about 2:00 p.m. from Canyon Hills Drive and Carbon Canyon Road looking toward Yorba Linda; Sunday morning at 10:00 looking into Carbon Canyon from Gordon Ranch; and this morning at 8:00 a.m. looking at charred areas on the north side of Sleepy Hollow from Hillside Drive.