Carbon Canyon Fire North of Olinda Ranch

A view of the fire north of Carbon Canyon near Olinda Ranch taken from Sleepy Hollow at 4:45 p.m., 7 July.

At around 10:30 this morning, a grass fire broke out in the vicinity of Olinda Ranch in Brea and has caused a closure of Carbon Canyon Road (State Highway 142) at Valencia Avenue on the Orange County side and in Sleepy Hollow on the Chino Hills side. 

One report from the Orange County Register quoted someone in the area as saying the fire started along the highway and spread northward into the hills.  The paper also stated that, while firefighters initially thought they had the fire under control somewhat quickly, the blaze reignited and headed north and east toward Olinda Village. 

This view was taken from a ridge on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road looking northwest from the Orange/San Bernardino County line.  Courtesy of Jim Powderly, Chino Valley Fire District.

New Brea fire chief Wolfgang Knabe has been quoted as saying that there is a contingency to evacuate residents there, if needed, but that, in any case, he expected crews to be there through the night.  Fixed-wing aircraft, moreover, have been deployed to drop material on the fire.

Fortunately, while temperature are in the upper 90s, there is humidity and low winds, which aid in the effort to combat the flames.
As for the road closure, this means that, while residents of Sleepy Hollow east can access their homes, those living in Olinda Village, Hollydale Mobile Home Estates and, perhaps, Olinda Ranch or parts of it, will not be able to reach their houses at this point.

Here is a dramatic view of a fixed-wing aircraft dumping Foscheck, a fire-fighting chemical, on the blaze.  Courtesy of George Ullrich of Olinda Village.

Click here for a NBC-LA web article and here for an Orange County Register Web page.

We'll see if more news is available as the afternoon progresses.

Meantime, for info on the Orange County side, call: 714-990-7732.

UPDATE (7:30 P.M.):  The City of Chino Hills sent an update an hour ago that Carbon Canyon Road (State Highway 142) is expected to be closed overnight and that updates will be provided as early as 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Evidently, this applies to through traffic in both directions.  Travelers east have been stopped at Valencia Avenue, while those going west can go through as far as Olinda Village before being halted.

Another view of aircraft responding to the fire and within Chino Hills State Park, as pointed out by Hills for Everyone Executive Director Claire Schlotterbeck, who provided this photograph.

Meantime, the fire has evidently scorched over 400 acres, including portions of the rarely-visited sections of Chino Hills State Park that are north of Carbon Canyon Road, and had been moving northeast into Los Angeles County.  The blaze is said to be more than 75% contained.  Notably, the fire was said to have been under control late morning/early afternoon, but then jumped fire lines and leapt out of control after 2 p.m., at which time the acreage burned had only been about 25.  Eventually, 250 firefighters, three helicopters and two aircraft were on scene and responding.  By 7 p.m. the force was down to half the fire personnel and one helicopter.  Expected winds did not materialize, which certainly has helped the effort.  In fact, fire officials hope to contain (not necessarily fully extinguish) the fire by late tonight or early tomorrow morning.  Fortunately, no damage or injuries have been reported and there have been no evacuations.

Here is an updated Orange County Register article link.

Thanks to everyone who has shared information and photographs of this fire as the event has developed over the day. 

If anything, the aftermath of the disaster of November 2008 has led to improved communication and, hopefully, response to fires within the Canyon and highlights the importance of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and Carbon Creek Egress Corridor Fuel Reduction Project [a.k.a., the cleanup of Carbon Creek of overgrown and fire-prone plant materials that also are diverting the creek and threatening the stability of Carbon Canyon Road]. 

Both of these projects have been developed by the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, which had its monthly meeting last night to discuss the status of these ongoing efforts to improve fire safety in Carbon Canyon.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Banner Is Up!

Thanks to some dedicated members of the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and the generosity of a Chino sign and banner company, a series of new banners will be seasonally displayed during the year to warn residents and passers-through of the fire danger that is essentially ever-present within the Canyon.

The first banner was put up by a Council member within the last few days, with a timely warning about fireworks and dirtbikes being a very real cause of fire within the area during hot, dry and windy summer days.

There are existing signs from the City of Chino Hills concerning the banning of fireworks throughout the city, but these are generally up for a couple of weeks before the Fourth of July holiday and then down soon after that day.

These banners, posted at the east entrance to the Canyon along westbound Carbon Canyon Road near Chino Hills Parkway and (soon to be) at the west end of the Chino Hills portion near the county border are enclosed within custom wood frames below the long-standing wooden signs warning of fire danger that have been up for many years.

Banners and signs have their place and, hopefully, these will have some impact.  Concerned citizens in Canyon neighborhoods can also be of assistance.  Ultimately, though, some enforcement has to take place, an issue that continues to occur with driving behavior on the road, despite all the directional and warning signs CalTrans has (and continues to add) on the highway.

Kudos to those Fire Safe Council members who put a lot of time and effort to get this project to fruition!