Carbon [Canyon] Creek Cleanup Commences

With encouragement from local residents, planning and coordination led by the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and the Chino Valley Fire District (especially inspector Jim Powderly), grant funding from Supervisor Gary Ovitt's office and other sources, and work conducted under the auspices of the Santa Ana Watershed Authority, a long-planned project to clean out the heavy growth of plant material and remove highly-flammable palm trees (which have already been killed by injection) in Carbon [Canyon] Creek in the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood in Chino Hills has begun.

This view shows a Bobcat working on clearing dense growths of plant material that have been clogging the Carbon [Canyon] Creek bed, bank and adjacent areas for years.  This project developed by the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and the Chino Valley Fire District is being conducted by the Santa Ana Watershed Authority and funded by the office of Supervisor Gary Ovitt and other sources.  The photo is courtesy of Fire District inspector Jim Powderly, who has logged many hours working on this important cleanup project.

Years ago, regular maintenance of these areas flanking the creek was maintained, allowing for a smooth flow of water in the watercourse, but it has been many years since any of this was done.  Consequently, occasional heavy rains has meant that the accumulation of plant material contributed to a greater rise in the creek to the point where portions of Carbon Canyon Road have collapsed.  This was the case in the major rains in the winter of 2004-05 when the creek eroded the roadway between Canyon Hills Road and Canon Lane.  In Sleepy Hollow, there have been sections of the road that have nearly given way because of these conditions.

Hopefully, this work will go a long way towards avoiding similar situations should there be more heavy rains (though the last two winters have been dry and it is believed there will be another low-water winter this year) in the future.  It is also hoped that once the creek has been cleared, local authorities will see the importance and value of what has been done and be more attentive to following up on the maintenance of the creek. 

UPDATE: Tuesday, 17 December.  Here's another photo by Jim Powderly showing the continued work, which, in response to a comment about the specific location, is being conducted east of the former liquor store property and about where the dead palm trees are.  The funds available now are for this particular area, but if there are future monies available, the work might be extended to other areas within Sleepy Hollow.




The busy sounds of chain saws, a Bobcat and the loading of removed plant material into roll-off bins are yielding the results depicted in this photo by Jim Powderly of the Chino Valley Fire District of the Carbon [Canyon] Creek cleanup project, which completed its second day on Tuesday the 17th.



UPDATE: Wednesday, 18 December.  The documentation of the creek cleanup program continues with a photo of Sleepy Hollow resident Ron Nadeau, a prime mover to get this project going, and Chino Hills city council members Peter Rogers and Ray Marquez, both Carbon Canyon residents with Marquez also a member of the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, amidst the clearing of plant material.  Kudos to the workers who are putting in a lot of effort and sweat to make this happen.

A shot of cleared area near the dead palm trees along Carbon [Canyon] Creek.  Pictured are Ron Nadeau of Sleepy Hollow, a key champion of the project, and Chino Hills city council members and Carbon Canyon residents Peter Rogers and Ray Marquez, the latter also a member of the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council.  Photo by Jim Powderly of the Chino Valley Fire District.