Carbon Canyon FEMA Grant Project Nearing Completion

With funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an extensive project to remove plant material, thin trees and bushes, and create firebreaks has been coordinated by the Chino Valley Independent Fire District with collaboration from CalFire, the state fire agency.  As the project moves towards its end of November extension deadline, CalFire crews have been working the tough terrain off of East Road in the southwestern corner of Sleepy Hollow, as shown here Monday.

Underway for a couple of years now, an extensive program of brush removal, firebreak creation and other fire mitigation measures, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is now approaching completion, just weeks before a final extension expires.

Coordinated by the Chino Valley Independent Fire District, in collaboration with CalFire, the state fire protection agency, and other partners, the mitigation project is within the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon and involves brush clearance, thinning of plants and trees, firebreak creation and other elements.

Crews have worked basically from Carriage Hills to Sleepy Hollow on the south and Sleepy Hollow through Oak Tree Estates on the north and in other areas on the canyon perimeter.  In some cases, workers have battled hot, dry weather, tough plant material, and steep hillside location to do the tough work needed to complete the project.

This photo taken on Monday shows a crew of CalFire workers perched on the steep slopes of the hills above the southwest portion of Sleepy Hollow as they complete the important mitigation project.

Just this week, CalFire crews were in probably the most difficult location of all:  the very steep hillsides in the southwest part of Sleepy Hollow, off East Lane and Rosemary Lane.  The photo here shows the tough terrain these dedicated workers had to deal with this week.

As today's 25-acre plus fire at the Chino Hills entrance to Chino Hills State Park demonstrates, the threat of a major fire is just about always present in our changing environment, considering climate change, drought, continued development encroaching on hazardous wildfire areas, and more.

Consequently, this work represents a vital effort to do what can be done to mitigate the effects of wildfires in Carbon Canyon and also shows just how far fire protection measures have come over the years.  Kudos to everyone involved in this project for doing their best to assist in making Carbon Canyon as protected as possible against wildfire damage.