Carbon [Canyon] Creek Cleanup Grant Issued!

The Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, a group of residents from the Brea and Chino Hills sides of the canyon along with fire district personnel from the local and state levels and other interested parties, has done important, meaningful and significant work in bringing issues of awareness and preventive measures dealing with the wildfires, which (as shown in recent posts here on fire history) have occasionally ravaged the canyon.  These include the annual Wildfire Awareness Fair, the twice yearly brush dropoff and disposal program, signage in the canyon to remind residents to remove brush from their properties, and more.

To carry out this work, however, requires assistance from the cities, counties and other agencies, as well as corporate involvement.  To that end, a project has been initiated to remove brush and plant material from the Chino Hills portion of Carbon [Canyon] Creek in Sleepy Hollow to help minimize the risk of fire, following on the heels of the still-continuing, but so far successful, effort to rid the Brea portion of the creek of the dreaded arundo donax.

At tonight's regular monthly meeting of the council, Olinda Village resident and State Farm Insurance agent Luz Thompson presented fire agency representatives and council members with a check for over $7,000 to help with this important work.  It was also announced that the office of San Bernardino County supervisor Gary Ovitt may be able to commit further funding (earlier allotments having been made for other council projects) to the creek cleanup work.

Crews from the Santa Ana Watershed Authority, which has supervised the arundo removal in Brea, have been examining an area of the creek in which there is a stand of several palm trees, which are highly flammable, that need to be killed and removed.  For the last few days, SAWA personnel have been out surveying these trees, looking especially for any nesting or other activity in them by owls or bats. 

The stand of highly flammable palm trees along Carbon [Canyon] Creek roughly halfway between the Sleepy Hollow Community Center and the closed Canyon Market.

Once the trees have been determined to be clear of use by these animals, then the injection of an herbicide will be conducted.  Over a few months, the poison will work to kill off the fronds of these quite old and tall trees.  After the fronds fall, they will be gathered and carted off for disposal.  Then, the trunks can be cut down.

It is also intended to remove brush, plant and tree material and other debris that can not only catch fire in a blaze, but also force the creek's water to flow toward Carbon Canyon Road, serving to erode the areas adjacent to and adjoining the highway, threatening its stability (this, in fact, is what happened in the winter of 2004-05 when heavy rains caused a creek rise that, abetted by abundant debris, caused a collapse of the roadway.)

As Thompson presented the check to the council and fire representatives, she made sure to thank Olinda Village resident and council stalwart Eric Johnson for his extraordinary efforts in doing the leg work to get the grant proposal together.  This is another shining example of how community efforts can go a long way toward dealing with problems that exist in the canyon and the council is to be commended for its proactive approach to working with these issues.

For those who live in either the Brea or Chino Hills sides of the canyon, are concerned about fire prevention, and want to be informed about or involved with the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at the Sleepy Hollow Community Center.