Carbon Fire Update

Thanks to Watch Duty and CalFire, it was reported a little over four hours ago that the Carbon Fire, burning some 210 acres between Olinda Village and Olinda Ranch in Brea on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142), was 71% contained.

During the day, there were 20 engines from a quartet of three-strike teams, nine hand crews, two dozers, two water tenders, drones and many firefighters engaged in the battle to control the blaze and deal with hot spots, which, as many of us now, can flare up into new fires.

With all evacuation warnings lifted earlier, the Red Cross care and reception center located at the Chino Hills Community Center was also closed today and Carbon Canyon Road opened before 4 p.m.  Those driving through later could see some of the equipment parked along the highway.

A great deal of thanks is owed to all of the agencies and personnel deployed to combat the conflagration, which was fanned by strong winds, though tempered by the light rain which fell last night.  While the investigation continues, it should be noted that many such fires along roadways can be caused by sparks from vehicles—again, this is only a general statement and we'll see if any identification is made as to a cause.

Just 45 minutes or so before the fire burst forth, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council concluded the first of a pair of Brush Drop Off events on the Chino Hills side of the Canyon.  These events, held for many years, involve the collection of brush and other material culled from properties and two roll-off bins were filled, comprising many thousands of pounds of brush.

 

While these help to mitigate some of the risk of wildfires in the Canyon, the Carbon Fire is yet another reminder that there is no longer a "fire season" and the threat of a blaze is present year-round.  Residents clearing material at their houses, CalTrans keeping dry brush away from the roadway of Carbon Canyon Road, and other property owners limiting the brush on their land are all part of the effort to reduce the possibility of a devastating conflagration like those of 2008, 1990, 1980, 1978 and in the years prior.

Thanks to Matt Eseltine for his remarkable photos of the Carbon Fire!

Carbon Fire Forward Movement Halted

 According to a 1:50 a.m. update by Alert Duty, forward movement on the Carbon Fire, scorching around 200 acres near Olinda Village on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon was halted by firefighting personnel working since the blaze burst out almost exactly 12 hours prior.

Carbon Canyon Road looks to remain closed as work continues on combating the conflagration.  For some remarkable video, check this out from the Orange County Fire Authority.

Much appreciation to all of the agencies and personnel who are working tirelessly to fight this fire and keep it from houses, structures and people!

Thanks to Matt Eseltine for sharing photos taking of the blaze and those fighting it!

Brush Fire Between Olinda Ranch and Olinda Village

Within the last 10 minutes, alerts have been issued of a brush fire in Brea, between Olinda Ranch and Olinda Village. Because of gusty winds, the flames have been moving toward the latter and several acres burned at last report. The fire response includes a variety of equipment and Carbon Canyon Road is closed while the blaze is being battled.

From the Orange County Register:

Firefighters on Saturday afternoon, April 25 were battling a wind-driven vegetation fire that scorched 4 acres in Brea, authorities said.

The blaze, dubbed the Carbon Fire, was reported around 1:45 p.m. on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road, according to Watch Duty, a nonprofit app that tracks wildfires. The fire quickly spread to 4 acres, and was approaching the neighborhood of Olinda Village.

Carbon Canyon Road was closed down between Brea Hill and Ruby, the Brea Police Department announced.

An additional five engines, two tankers and a helicopter were requested by incident command to combat the blaze.

From NBC4 Los Angeles a little before 3:30 p.m.:

Evacuation warnings were issued Saturday afternoon after a brush fire broke out in an unincorporated area of Brea.

The Carbon Fire was reported just after 1:30 p.m. in the area of Carbon Canyon and Olinda Place near Carbon Canyon Regional Park, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

The blaze, which is currently at about 5 acres, prompted officials to issue an evacuation warning for Hollydale Mobile Home Park and Olinda Village. The public is asked to avoid the area until further notice.

As a result of the firefight, Carbon Canyon Road is closed between Ruby Drive and Break Hills Avenue.

It’s unclear what caused the fire.

Further updates, 6:30 p.m.: The Carbon Fire, involving some 200 acres, burns toward the north, apparently in Chino Hills State Park and other land, away from Olinda Village. Further firefighting resources have been requested in the form of 20 engines, 4 hand crews and 2 dozers. The City of Brea, it is reported, is keeping Carbon Canyon Road closed until tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon.

LA County Fire Dept Prescribed Burn in Tonner Canyon Today

 For those seeing/smelling smoke in our area, please note this from the City of Chino Hills:

Smoke may be visible in the Chino Valley today, March 30, due to a one-day prescribed burn in Tonner Canyon being conducted by Los Angeles County Fire Department. Prescribed burns are effective tools in preventing large, destructive wildfires. These planned burns are carefully managed to reduce smoke impacts and improve wildland health.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Brush Drop-Off Tomorrow Morning!

It's going to be a hot weekend and this is a reminder of the ever-present wildfire danger in Carbon Canyon. So, tomorrow morning, Saturday the 4th from 8 to Noon, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council hosts its biannual Brush Drop-Off event at Fire Station 64 on Canon Lane, north of Carbon Canyon Road.

Chino Hills residents ONLY of the Canyon are encouraged to bring cut brush to roll-off bins provided free by Waste Management with the assistant of the City of Chino Hills. Help us reduce the risk of wildfire damage! 

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Presentation on Wildfire House Hardening

 At its regular monthly meeting last night, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council hosted a presentation by Allied Disaster Defense, a West Covina company that provides services for fire damage restoration as well as house hardening for protection against wildfires.

While the Council does not endorse the company or its products and services, it offered the presentation as a service to Carbon Canyon residents to get educated about the latest recommendations, endorsed by fire officials and others, to protect houses for wildfires.

The presentation was recorded and is well worth a look by anyone residing in the Canyon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_4_qsEGuZU.

While we had ample rainfall this past winter, we cannot get complacent about the ongoing risk of wildfire, especially because there is a lot more plant material and hot weather, such as the heat dome now affecting inland areas and much of northern California, can quickly dry out much of that material and significantly elevate the fire risk.  Moreover, there will be mandated changes to what the state will allow in terms of plant and other flammable material around houses, especially as insurance companies continue to drop customers in high fire zones.

For more about the Council, check out its website: www.carboncanyonfsc.org.

Updated Hills for Everyone Wildfire Study Released

The remarkable Hills for Everyone organization, which has done so much to protect and preserve open space, parkland, and wildlife corridors in this area for decades, has provided another great service recently, especially as a major wildfire has blazed through the Porter Ranch area of the foothills of the northern San Fernando Valley.

After the 2008 Freeway Complex fire, which raced through much of Carbon Canyon, especially the Brea portion, Hills for Everyone engaged in a study of wildfire history in the region.  With increasing activity in an era of rapidly growing climate change, the group revised its study and the results were released and reported upon in today's Champion.

Most striking, in the piece by Marianne Napoles, is that fires have exploded by 50% in the last several years compared to nearly a century prior to 2012.  The data goes back to 1914 and the study shows that over 150 blazes were documented (though there may have been more, especially in earlier years, that were not.)

Of these, only two were known to be from natural causes, that is, lightning strikes, with the rest caused by human activity, principally from arson, automobiles, and fireworks.  Most of them, it was noted, were small and easily contained and extinguished.  The most common months for conflagrations were July, September and October (Santa Ana wind conditions being prevalent in the latter two.)

Significantly, two major hot spots for these fires were identified.  One is the 91 Freeway corridor through Santa Ana Canyon, where the narrowness of the passage of the state highway through that area in proximity to wildlands and large numbers of homes built in recent decades is a significant aspect.

The other is Carbon Canyon, where State Route 142 (Carbon Canyon Road) winds through and has become a significant commuter alternative to the 91 and 57 freeways entering Orange County.  There is a wider section with much more housing on the San Bernardino County portion of the Canyon through Chino Hills.  The more sparsely populated area of the Canyon in Orange County through Brea is far more narrow and wildland-adjacent with communities like Olinda Village/Hollydale just outside the narrowest portion.

Finally, the report has many recommendations for improving fire protection for the area of study, including more careful vetting of proposed housing projects; a more robust system for fining violators of codes, ordinances and laws that affect fire safety; a more vigrorous fire watch system of patrols of area prone to greater risk during wildfires; better construction of new houses and improves for older ones pertaining to attic vents, closed eaves and the like; improvements to the highways from which some fires start; and, very importantly, these days, given new power shutoff policies, improvements with power line maintenance.

For more on this important study, here is the link to the Hills for Everyone page.

Building on the Wildland-Urban Interface (like Carbon Canyon)

Yesterday marked the first day of winter and, while temperatures last night dropped to freezing here in Sleepy Hollow, December has been more like June.  The first half of the month had temperatures routinely in the 80s while humidity was in single digits and Santa Ana winds have been a regular feature.  Precipitation for the season starting the first of October stands at 12/100th of an inch.  The reduction in daytime temperatures will give way yet again in the next few days to more high pressure parks over the region and Sunday will be 5-10 degrees above what has been called "normal."

The Thomas fire, which broke out north of Santa Paula in Ventura County nearly three weeks ago, raced west and north and has burned nearly 275,000 acres, making it the second [correction, as of later today, the Thomas fire has become the largest, surpassing 2003's Cedar fire in San Diego County] largest wildfire in modern California history, and other fires wreaked havoc.  This fall, including the disastrous conflagrations in Santa Rosa and Sonoma and nearby areas and the fires near Corona in this region, has been an historic one for wildfires.

Wednesday's main editorial in the Los Angeles Times asked a perfectly reasonable question in its headline: Where can we still build?  Routinely, it is brought up that there is "a debilitating housing shortage" in California that sends housing prices, including rent, skyrocketing.  Estimates are that some 3.5 million housing units are needed in the next seven years to meet demand.  As the paper notes:

This fall's devastating wildfires have reopened the debate over whether it's possible to build (or rebuild) safely in high-risk areas . . . Researchers warn that this may be a taste of what's to come as global warming fuels larger and more frequent wildfires, and as new development creeps further into the wildland-urban interfaces where homes and offices abut foothills, forests or other open land.

There is talk about having state, county and municipal government, developers and the residents of new developments absorb the costs of the destruction wrought by fires in places where new housing projects "impinge upon wildlands."

The editorial rightly observes, however, that there are other areas of growing risk.  Melting polar ice is calculated to raise sea levels some ten feet by the latter part of this century.  Intense droughts will be punctuated by periods of heavy rain, bringing immediate flooding, and voluminous snowpacks, delaying deluges until the melting takes place.  Recall that the aging and deteriorating Oroville Dam very nearly collapsed earlier this year after a winter of significant rain and snow.

Then, there is the risk in urban areas, such as neary traffic-clogged freeways where cars with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines sit idling and sending toxic fumes into nearby areas or (and this was not mentioned in the editorial) near places like the ports at Wilmington/San Pedro and Long Beach or near industrial areas, where health risks are acute.

What the Times counsels is that

California will increasingly have to develop and redevelop in cities and in established residential neighborhoods.  Cities have to grow inward—with more development on vacant or underused lots amid buildings, greater density and more housing closer to workplaces and transit hubs.

The editorial acknowledges that "that's rarely easy" with high land costs and prevailing attitudes from the public and elected officials to accept the idea of change.  But, as it concludes

Simply staying the course, however, is not an option.   The status quo leaves too many pople in too much risk.

What this means for places like Carbon Canyon is what's been talked about on this blog and many other places at some length.  Existing paradigms about regional development which in some respects date back many decades are outdated and outmoded.  Residents and local staff and elected officials have to look at that status quo and make a risk assessment.

For the Canyon, this means asking: is it worth adding housing in the urban-wildland interface, particularly with hill and ridge top locations, when the risks of more frequent wildfires of greater intensity, which have been predicted and are now occurring generally as forecast, increase?  As water supply faces greater uncertainty?  As more severe droughts, interspersed with occasional heavy rainfall, raise the threat of wildfire and flooding?  As the resources used to respond to natural and man-made disasters are further stretched?

Conditions are clearly changing, but the paradigm shift is slower in response.  The status quo is not only not working, it is engendering greater risk.  Those of us who chose to live here have to deal with those consequences of our actions now, but if the risk is greater, why literally play with fire?

Carbon Canyon Road Closed Due to Fire by Regional Park in Brea

7:50 p.m.  Official Chino Hills update from 5 minutes ago is that Carbon Canyon Road is fully opened.

7:25 p.m.  Starting to see vehicles coming eastbound from the Brea side of Carbon Canyon, so it looks like the road is again open.

6 p.m. UPDATE from the city website:

Road Closure - Wed. 10/25 UPDATE 6:00 pm Fire is nearly out- Carbon Canyon still closed

6:00 pm update: The Carbon Canyon fire is nearly out. Crews on on scene conducting mop up with 2 helicopters remaining in the area in case of hot spots or flare ups. Fire was in Brea and contained to 5 acres. Carbon Canyon remains closed due to fire apparatus in the area.

Here's the City of Chino Hills alert:

October 25, 2017 4:27 PM

Road Closure - Wed. 10/25 4:15 pm - Carbon Canyon Road Closed Due to a Vegetation Fire in Brea

Carbon Canyon Road is closed in both directions due to a vegetation fire near Carbon Canyon Regional Park. From the Chino Hills side, residents will be allowed access into Carbon Canyon from Chino Hills Parkway. There is a total road closure at the County line past Sleepy Hollow.
On the Brea side, Carbon Canyon Road is closed in both directions of trave

Fire Threat in Carbon Canyon

As profiled ten days ago in the Los Angeles Times (click here) and reemphasized by the latest massive blaze in the Clear Lake area of northern California, this has been a notable summer for wildfires in California.

To the date of the article, 5 August, 223,600 acres, or some 350 square miles, had burned in 4,000 separate incidents, taking out 300 houses and killing eight persons.

Much of the state is susceptible to wildfires, given the length, severity and reach of the unprecedented drought that has gripped California for several years running.

Some people might be lulled into a false sense of security because of the good rain and snow that fell on parts of the Sierra Nevada Mountains last winter, but much of California received very little precipitation--this includes southern California and our own Carbon Canyon.

The Erskine fire near Lake Isabella in Kern County killed two people and blackened close to 50,000 acres.  The San Gabriel Complex fire in the mountains above Duarte and Monrovia burned over 4,000 acres.  The Soberanes fire in Monterey County scorched about 54,000 acres.  The Sand fire near Santa Clarita claimed almost 40,000 acres.

Then, there are the hundreds of fires that range from under 10,000 acres and lower--in one week, there were 300 separate incidents recorded throughout the state.

Now, southeast of Clear Lake, in an area already hit by three major fires in 2015 alone, the Clayton fire has destroyed 175 structures in 3,000 acres.  The fire doubled in size yesterday alone and is only 5% contained.  Read the latest on that blaze here.

It is telling that, even with all of this activity, the statistics are dwarfed by what happened in 2008, when, by 11 August, there had been around 1.2 million acres burned in wildfires.

This was before the Freeway Complex fire in mid-November raged through much of Carbon Canyon sending a lot of us on a three-night evacuation, during which Sleepy Hollow was a sudden wind shift away from being significantly engulfed.

Plus, since 2010, a staggering 66 million trees have been killed by bark beetle infestations, which are exacerbated by drought conditions and those trees become bone-dry fuels ready-made for wildfires.

But, back to 2016.  There's a long way to go this year.  The fall Santa Ana season awaits.  Our region had another winter of about 4 inches of rain as the drought continues.  This summer has had some hot spells--today registered 106 in Chino Hills at about 4 p.m.  Dry plant material is everywhere.

So, we have to be aware of what is possible here in Carbon Canyon during this last half of the year.  2008 is possible again.

Meanwhile, housing developments in these parched hills, which are most vulnerable to wildfires feeding on those dry fuels and driven by winds at upper elevations, are being built and proposed with the possibility of several hundred new structures added.

There's a reason why CalTrans has placed signs on the Brea side reading "Entering Hazardous Fire Area."

Why the department doesn't have those signs on the Chino Hills side is puzzling.

Why our local, regional and state planners continue to act as if conditions have not changed when they work with housing projects is mind-boggling.

Why we hear so much about the demand for housing as if we had all the water in the world, didn't have the worst smog in almost a decade, had plenty of funds to pay for the infrastructure needed to support the new housing, and so on, is truly mystifying.

Why a proper sense of context and perspective continues to elude leadership when it comes to to development (though intense lobbying, builder-friendly statutes, and an evident weakening of regulatory controls come to mind) is bewildering.

Maybe we'll get lucky and escape without another major fire in Carbon Canyon this year?

Addendum, 16 August, 1:15 p.m.:  Another wildfire, the Bluecut, reaching 1,000 acres in within one hour, has broken out near Cajon Pass at Devore.  6:15 p.m.  The Bluecut fire is now pushing towards Wrightwood and has consumed almost 7,000 acres. 9:15 p.m.  This fire has exploded to some 15,000 acres and there are 82,000 people evacuated in 11 hours.

Brea Fire Station #4 Grand Opening in Olinda Village This Saturday!

This Saturday, 6 September from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fire Station #4 of the Brea Fire Department, which is in a two-year agreement of shared command with the Fullerton Fire Department, is having its grand opening at its location at 198 Olinda Place in the Olinda Village shopping center off Carbon Canyon Road.  Remarks by local officials will begin at 11:15 a.m.

There has been a small facility at the site for years, but a rehabilitation includes new structures and other improvements to the staff, which will also be staffed better from the human and material resources standpoints.

Click on the image to see it enlarged in a new window (easier to read the text!)

Given the near-disaster of the Freeway Complex Fire of November 2008, better fire protection for the entire Carbon Canyon area has been a big priority and this station enhancement is part of the effort.

Fire personnel from Brea will be serving up a barbeque, there will be site tours, and the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council will have a presence along with the Brea CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) group.  Fire prevention and mitigation information will also be available.

Those interested in seeing the improved station are encouraged to come down, take a look, meet city and fire department leaders and see what is being done to strengthen fire protection in the Canyon.

San Diego County Fires, Madrona and Carbon Canyon

Added to both ends of the Brea portion of Carbon Canyon along Carbon Canyon Road by CalTrans District 12, these signs are unambiguous about the real threat posed by wildfires in Carbon Canyon.  This is what future buyers of 162 houses in the proposed Madrona subdivision will drive by on their way to the site, if it is approved (as early as next Tuesday) and if it is actually built.  Why should the Brea City Council take the chance of approving something that could be at the flashpoint of a catastrophic wildfire?

Given the continuing drought and the increasing frequency lately of hot, dry, Santa Ana conditions, the fires raging through northern San Diego County, which has been hit with major blazes several times in the last decade or so, are another reminder, if any were needed, of the danger that Carbon Canyon, and like areas, faces.

This remains an essential issue as the deliberations over the proposed 162-unit Madrona housing development in the Brea portion of the canyon comes closer to a deciding point—perhaps as early as next Tuesday, the 20th when the Brea City Council takes up the matter again.

Old Standard Life Insurance Company, the owner of the Madrona property, has indicated that it will accept 9 of the 11 Conditions of Approval offered by council members Brett Murdock and Christine Marick as a way to wring further concessions from the OSLIC.  This would, presumably, sway enough of the council to vote for the project and deny its appeal, filed back in 2008 just before the Freeway Complex Fire burned the Madrona site and most of the Brea side of Carbon Canyon.

The San Diego County conflagrations, however, should be another obvious indication that all of the promises of fire mitigation and all of the projections of abundant water supply, orderly evacuation strategies, and other aspects, may just not be sufficient to counter the devastation that can be wrought by a wildfire of the proportions that we're seeing in that county and which we witnessed here 5 1/2 years ago--and will again.

The portion of the canyon where Madrona is proposed has steep canyon walls and wind-swept ridgelines that are, according to any expert analysis such as the US Geological Survey's new video, "Living With Fire," flashpoints for developing and moving fire rapidly through those areas.  The mitigation efforts proposed for the development look fine on paper, or on computer screens via 3-D simulations and other modeling, but the unpredictability of fire and human emotions and reactions in real time is an entirely different matter.

Madrona is just a microcosm of a bigger issue--the continuing encroachment and intrusion of development in wildland areas, as we are coming to terms (well, some people) with the effects of climate change, enduring drought, dwindling water supply, and other factors.

Madrona is emblematic of outdated and timeworn thinking, at a time when we need innovation, adaptation and forward-thinking leadership and management.

Madrona is symptomatic of a broad problem of not coming to terms with a changing world, but this isn't just theoretical posturing.  The prospect of having 162 houses in the middle of a raging wildfire--which even the fire consultants for the project admit will happen again (and again)--takes this beyond the conceptual into the real (or the realistic, in terms of probability.)

Does the Brea City Council (or those that may still be around when and if such an event occurs) really want to be responsible for that probability?

SATURDAY, 17 MAY: Today's front page of the "LATEXTRA" section of the Los Angeles Times has a photo of an Escondido home that, despite being built of concrete and steel, was destroyed by the intense heat of one of the many San Diego County fires.  It is worth noting that, as with the Madrona site, the location was on a hilltop, prone to high winds.

Wildfires, Drought and Madrona: A Recipe for Disaster?

UPDATE: 19 January 2014:  Today's Los Angeles Times has an article on the fact that fire crews are usually de-mobilized this time of year because of winter conditions, but that the extreme drought that has stricken the state has led to an increased activation by these personnel because of wildfires that have broken out throughout California.  This doesn't just include the local Colby Fire in Glendora that destroyed five houses and blackened nearly 2,000 acres, but others, including one in normally wet and green Humboldt County that surprised officials in that northwestern coastal county.  Meantime, what did shock firefighters at the Colby blaze was just how quickly the fire spread, mainly because fuels were so heavy there and the terrain was amenable to increasing the speed of the flames.

Further, amidst the "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" condition that is affecting weather in the western U.S., there is this article (click here) that discusses the likelihood of the doubling of extreme El Niño conditions due to climate change.  Climatologists are careful about linking specific weather occurrences to climate change, but it is also worth noting that the type of scenario experienced in our region of the world does correlate with much of what is being stated as part of what can be expected.

With a new Caltrans sign stating that Carbon Canyon is a "hazardous fire area," and the state declaring an extreme drought emergency and the federal Department of Agriculture declaring much of the western states as a disaster area because of drought, the idea of Brea approving 162 water-guzzling houses in a dangerous ridge-top setting with steep canyon surroundings, a prime wildfire location, is just pure folly.

UPDATE:  17 January 2014:  Today, Governor Jerry Brown declared the state of California to be in a water emergency, finally recognizing what has been obvious from all the data regarding Sierra Nevada snowpack, low reservoir levels, and so forth.  Given this official declaration, as well as CalTrans' official declaration, via the sign pictured below, that Carbon Canyon is a "Hazardous Fire Area," it is even more imperative for the City of Brea to recognize the reality before it and uphold the appeal of its Planning Commission's 2008 decision (that being before the massive Freeway Complex Fire and our worsening drought conditions) to end this project and put aside any idea of approving large-scale new housing projects in the Canyon.

Today's Colby Fire in Glendora erupted the same day the Los Angeles Times had a feature article on the front page titled "Cutting Back as Levels Fall" regarding the "concern" that California "is headed for major drought."  While a few reservoirs, like Pyramid Lake and Castaic Lake are at 98% and 87% capacity, respectively, northern ones from Trinity County to Kern County are showing from 18% to 51%, far below so-called "historical averages."  The Sierra Nevada Mountain snowpack is a meager 20% of "normal."  The northern California town of Willits has 100 days of water in reserve.  Admittedly, it's much better down here--the MWD says it has stable water supply to get through 2014 and part of 2015.  But, what about beyond the that should the drought continue?  Sacramento's city manager John Shirey was quoted as saying, "with climate change occurring we have to assume that we could see long-term shortages of water in California.  We just have to change, I think, the mindset here and everywhere--we're going to have less water to rely on."

Today's U.S.A. Today reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has placed portions of eleven western and central states under the status of "primary natural disaster areas and the subheading of the article notes that almost two-thirds of California is under an extreme drought condition, but, then, "extreme drought" is the second worst form of drought--the National Weather Service calls the worst level "exceptional" and the state isn't quite there yet.

Today's local Star-Progress newspaper has a letter to the editor pointing out just how wasteful the water use of the proposed Madrona housing project at the far eastern end of Brea within Carbon Canyon will be--as in 2.5 million gallons of water every ten days, enough to flood the entire Brea Mall site including parking, a total of 76 acres, to a depth of 4 feet.

With this new sign up along eastbound Carbon Canyon Road near Valencia Avenue on the way in to Carbon Canyon, does the idea of building 162 houses on a ridgetop among steep canyon settings have any merit or make any sense?

And, this is all two days after Caltrans placed a new sign on Carbon Canyon Road eastbound and just east of Valencia Avenue, as motorists head for the bottleneck towards the canyon.

The sign reads, "Entering Hazardous Fire Area."  Hazardous.

The idea that the Madrona project, piggybacking on an old, outdated and outmoded Canyon Crest project, thanks to a poorly-crafted legal agreement that the City of Brea signed on to, has any merit, given today's drought conditions, uncertain future water supplies, growing wildfire risks, and other concerns related to traffic, loss of diminishing oak and walnut woodland habitat, is just a delusion.

Next Tuesday, the City of Brea begins hearings on the appeal to the 2008 planning commission approval of Canyon Crest.  Canyon Crest came in to the process under, literally, 20th-century standards and conditions. 

Well, we are well into the 21st-century and with very different standards and changing and volatile conditions.

Why anyone would think building large numbers of homes makes sense in a steep canyon ridgetop with "hazardous fire area" status, guzzling absurd amounts of water, and having only a two-lane highway and an emergency exit through an established neighborhood that also empties onto the same highway--which is often gridlocked with traffic in the mornings and afternoons/evenings--is beyond reasonable understanding.

Will the Brea City Council understand?  Come to the council meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m. and subsequent meetings that will continue the hearing and see.

Carbon Canyon Vegetation Reduction Program

The Chino Valley Fire District, with funds provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been engaged in a long-term project to reduce vegetation that provide fuels for fires near residential areas with Carbon Canyon.  Removing this vegetation through wide fire breaks is an important component of a comprehensive fire protection program engaged in by the district.  It also represents a continuing evolution in fire prevention and fire fighting planning over the years.

The accompanying aerial map, developed by department inspector Kevin Smith, identifies the work zone starting on the east at Vellano and moving its way behind the Western Hills Oaks and Mountain View Estates subdivisions on the southern side of Carbon Canyon Road and then southwestward towards Sleepy Hollow. 

This Chino Valley Fire District aerial map, created by department inspector Kevin Smith, shows the Carbon Canyon Vegetation Reduction Program work zone in yellow, blue and green (these colors indicating work completed and in progress), as well as a thin red line snaking largely horizontally across the map that represents the reach of the November 2008 Freeway Complex Fire, which encircled Sleepy Hollow yet suddenly shifted before the community was consumed.

The zone then crosses to the north side of the state highway at the county line and moving northward from Sleepy Hollow to the west end of what will be the Forestar Canyon Hills development, a 76-unit housing project just started off Canyon Hills Road, and then up and around the eastern flank of the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious institution and the western edge of the Oak Tree Downs subdivision.

Those areas in yellow represent locations in which work has been completed, including those sections near Vellano and above Western Hills Oaks, along Carbon Canyon Road between Mountain View Estates and Sleepy Hollow and most of the southern boundary of the latter and, on the north side of the Canyon, a section next to Sleepy Hollow, as well as the areas around Oak Tree Downs.

There are still areas to be completed, specifically the southwest corner of Sleepy Hollow, where the terrain is steep and difficult to access and some of the territory between St. Joseph's Hill of Hope and Forestar Canyon Hills, where the folks at the Hill of Hope have done their own intensive fire break work.

Also of note is the thin red line snaking through the map:  this is the extent to which the Freeway Complex Fire of November 2008 made its advances into this portion of Carbon Canyon.  Obviously, the fire came extremely close to portions of Western Hills Parks, the Mountain View Estates tract, all of Sleepy Hollow, and came quite close to the Hill of Hope's compound, which is along the San Bernardino/Los Angeles county line.  The San Bernardino County line is the thick dark one at the edge of this detail.

While this presence of the red line showing the incursion of that massive fire demonstrates the need for this vegetation reduction project, and all manner of other means to reduce fuel, it should also be remembered that the fire abruptly changed course just as it bore down on the upper reaches of Sleepy Hollow.  Residents remembered fire fighting personnel getting ready to either leave the area, because the fire was not defendable, or looking to defend to the extent possible before pulling back, when there was a sudden change in winds that pushed the flames in a different direction.

Moreover, sparks can travel a mile or more and create other fires, especially in high wind episodes like that found in the Santa Ana wind-aided conflagration of November 2008.  This means that the best fire breaks possible may not protect communities in the canyon from being consumed by fire.  That said, this project is a worthy effort to do what can be done to provide a line of defense against wildfires.

Given 2013's infamy as having, at 3.89 inches of rain in Los Angeles, the lowest rainfall year since official records were begun in 1877, and the fact that we've been ensnared in a long-term drought pattern, continued efforts at fire protection are essential.  Because, a fire like that of 2008 and 1990 and 1978 and 1958 and 1929 (and others) will occur again within Carbon Canyon.

Adding more houses, like the 76-unit Forestar Canyon Hills and the last phases of Elements on the north side of Western Hills Golf Course, as well as future projects like the 24-unit tract that has been approved east of Western Hills below Carbon Canyon Road and possible approvals for the 162-unit Madrona project and the unsubmitted tract south of Carbon Canyon Road between Sleepy Hollow and Mountain View Estates, all raise further issues.

These include more people to evacuate, more area to cover for firefighting personnel, more water to use for fire suppression, and more buildings that could burn.  This is why further large-scale development in Carbon Canyon, along with traffic impacts, loss of rapidly disappearing native habitat, pollution, and others, is simply not good public policy.  Carbon Canyon is an extreme fire zone and adding potentially 350-400 more units will be, for that and the other reasons given, does not improve the quality of life here, it diminishes it.

Freeway Complex Fire Exhibit at Chino Hills State Park

This image and several below are boards put together by Hills for Everyone for the events held this weekend and next at the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Freeway Complex Fire of 2008.  Click on any image here to see it in a larger view in a separate window.

This weekend marked the fifth anniversary of the Freeway Complex Fire of November 2008, an event that burned almost the entirety of Chino Hills State Park and the Brea side of Carbon Canyon, while threatening to overwhelm Sleepy Hollow and other areas of the Chino Hills portion of the canyon before the flames were suddenly diverted and headed elsewhere.

Hills for Everyone, the non-profit that was instrumental in the creation of the state park and which continues to work for the preservation of open space in the area, held this Saturday and Sunday the first of its two weekends of exhibits at the state park's Discovery Center.  Components of the event included display boards showing the fire, the results, and the recovery; newspaper articles covering the conflagration; reports dealing with the blaze and with wildfire issues generally; videos of the fire and of wildfire matters in the region; material from the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and Hills for Everyone; and more.

It appears that visitation was strong over both days and it is hoped that it will continue to be so next weekend, the 23rd and 24th, when the event is held again.  For those who live in or near Carbon Canyon or in or near areas susceptible to wildfires and their effects, the event and its exhibits are essential.

Viewing the exhibits are also important to the further understanding of how the relentless push, mediated somewhat by economic downturns and then revitalized by recovery, for new housing developments in fire-sensitive areas continues to be of concern.

This is true at the moment with the ill-conceived, but still possible, Madrona (formerly Canyon Crest) project of 162 houses on 367 acres on the Brea side of Carbon Canyon between Olinda Village and Sleepy Hollow, a project that sits on a site that has burned several times in recent decades and that will again (and one which has a whole host of other problems, as has been discussed before and will be more).  Tuesday the 19th, in fact, is when a staff report on the status of the Madrona project will be presented to the Brea city council, preliminary to hearings in late January and into February that will lead to a vote by that body on the appeal to the narrow 3-2 Planning Commission decision to approve of the then-Canyon Crest project--a decision that came just before the disastrous Freeway Complex Fire.

There are also two approved projects totaling 100 houses on the Chino Hills side, an application for another there that would be involve more units than that, and other in-process projects in Yorba Linda, a city that experienced significant destruction of homes in hillside areas during the 2008 fires, yet which continues to be builder-friendly.

Further off in the future, there is also the Shell-Aera properties in unincorporated Orange and Los Angeles counties north and west of Brea, which will certainly be the location of more housing projects.  And, who knows what the future portends for Tonner Canyon, almost all held by the City of Industry and some of which is not far north of Carbon Canyon.

Huge wildfires continue to be a problem throughout the western United States, much less our area.  The effects of climate change almost certainly will continue to be brought to bear, including through long-term drought that creates conditions for larger and more devastating wildfires, less water supply, and other effects.  To discount this and to act as if housing projects in wildfire-prone areas can somehow be conducted under old models, standards and conditions is not just bad public policy, it is a dangerous folly.

A long weekend last week in Julian reiterated the problems.  In 2003, the massive Cedar fire consumed a staggering 15% of the land area of San Diego County (this blogger was just leaving San Diego when that conflagration broke out and drove out on I-15 as flames roared nearby.)  In Julian and surrounding areas, the devastation was significant.  A hike in the Santa Ysabel Land Preserve featured a couple of display panels chronicling the devastation of the fire and the fact that wildfires are to be expected in backcountry areas--except that the human presence continues to grow, as it has over the last several decades in Carbon Canyon and its environs.

This photo and the one below are from text panels at the Santa Ysabel Land Preserve near Julian in San Diego County and discuss the effects of the 2003 Cedar Fire on the local area.

Certainly, those of us living in existing dwellings in the Canyon accept the consequences, as do the folks in Julian, for residing in a wildfire zone.  This doesn't mean, though, the local officials are exempt from the responsibility of carefully considering consequences when deciding to approve housing projects.  Land owners and developers don't have to worry about those consequences.  They reap the short-term rewards and leave the long-term issues for the cities and counties to deal with (or not, in some cases.)

There is a tipping point--and it's not just fire risk.  It is also decreasing habitat, increasing traffic, growing and often wasteful water use, landslide of unstable slopes, and more.   But, fire becomes the preeminent health and safety hazard and government, whose primary responsibility is (or should be) the health and safety of their constituents, should be mindful of this before approving housing projects in dangerous locations.

Events like the one held by Hills for Everyone this weekend and next bring needed attention to the question.  Anyone concerned ought to go, see the exhibits, talk to those staffing the room and become better educated.  It's vital for the future of Carbon Canyon and nearby areas.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Wildfire Awareness Fair This Saturday

The Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council hosts its annual Wildfire Awareness Fair this Saturday, 14 September from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Western Hills Park, located at the corner of Canon Lane and Carbon Canyon Road in Chino Hills.

The event features vendors and exhibitors selling and demonstrating fire protection products, activities held by such sponsors as Home Depot, a drawing for a variety of prizes offered by local businesses, refreshments and more.

With the drought in our region continuing after a second consecutive low-precipitation winter, dry and combustible plant material, the eruption of major wildfires throughout the American West, and the likelihood of fall Santa Ana conditions looming, as well as a commemoration coming soon for the fifth anniversary of the devastating Freeway Complex Fire, this fair takes on more meaning and resonance than ever.

This is an opportunity for canyon residents and anyone living in or near wildfire-prone areas to learn more about what can be done to provide protection for homes and property.  The Fire Safe Council will be following this event with a brush pickup day held just across Canon Lane from the park in two weeks, on Saturday, 28 September from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., as another key element in its mission to provide for fire awareness and protection advocacy in Carbon Canyon.

Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council Upcoming Events

The Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park and surrounding areas is moving quickly towards being one of the biggest, if not the largest, wildfires in California history.  Major conflagrations have occurred in the drought-stricken western states like Colorado and Arizona, as well as in other parts of California. 

Unfortunately, prolonged drought conditions and factors emanating from climate change do not portend a lessening of wildfire events and as development continues and is planned in and near wild-land areas, the problem likely will worsen--all the more reason (though certainly not the only) for the City of Brea to deny the Madrona housing project, should that matter come before the city council on appeal of the Planning Commission's narrow 3-2 approval of Madrona's predecessor, Canyon Crest.

As firefighting agencies put it these days, "fire season is all year long," instead of during the fall when Santa Ana winds blow or when hot late spring or summer weather dries out growth from the previous winter's rains.  Consequently, organizations like the local Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council are working year round to do what they can to mitigate fire risks.

In September, then, the Council will be holding two major events dealing with fire suppression and awareness efforts, as shown on the flyer above.

On Saturday, 14 September from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Council hosts its annual "Wildfire Awareness Fair" at Western Hills Park, located at the corner of Carbon Canyon Road and Canon Lane.  The free fair includes fire protection product demos, information on landscaping appropriate to our region, exhibits and information provided by local agencies, vendors and associations; prize drawings; and more.

Two weeks after that, on Saturday, 28 September from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Council conducts the last of two "Brush Clearance Drop Off" days, in which residents of the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon can bring brush removed from their property and, assisted by Council volunteers, unload them into roll-off bins provided by the City of Chino Hills through Chino Hills Disposal.

For more information on these upcoming events and on the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, visit at www.CarbonCanyonFSC.com or call (909) 902-5280, x. 409.

Ominous Fire Season Forecast

Two of Carbon Canyon's most active stewards have routed the following link to a report that predicts that this year's fire season could be the worst on record.  Already, there have been several major blazes in southern California, including a very large fire in Ventura County near Camarillo and another major conflagration near Elizabeth Lake in northern Los Angeles County.

Needless to say, local fire authorities, other officials and many residents have tried to do their best to prepare fire-prone areas.  The small amount of rainfall during the winter, only some five inches, which is among the lowest since official tallies were started in 1877, and the fact that a small burst of rain in late January actually exacerbated the problems because of the timing of new growth and extreme dryness that followed, are telling for this year.

Those of us who live in Carbon Canyon, as well as those who travel through it, need to be extra careful and mindful of the conditions that will continue to develop over the course of the summer and, especially, the fall when dry conditions and Santa Ana winds tend to be at their worst.

Click here for the link to the report (note the comment by a Carbon Canyon resident).

Carbon Canyon and the All-Year Fire Season

The onset of Santa Ana winds and hot, dry weather at this time of year might be termed "abnormal," but the idea of "normal" in the context of climate change doesn't seem to have much relevancy anymore.

Wildfires erupting throughout southern California (while, meantime, there has been heavy snowfall in the Midwest, which is not "normal" for the season), especially the massive blaze in the Camarillo area, are a reminder that a paltry 5 inches of rain this winter, the fourth-lowest regionally since official records were started in 1877, portend another difficult year.

There are some showers forecast for as early as Sunday and through Tuesday, but it looks like these are "chances" of precipitation and likely the last chance for many months.

As for Carbon Canyon, 15 May is the usual deadline for the removal of brush and the extremely dry winter is all the more reason to be mindful of meeting that requirement and continuing to be vigilant about fire threats.  There used to be references to the fire seasons of spring and fall, but the reality now is that fire season is all-year.

This includes motorcycle and ATV riders taking to the hills, as was noticed out the window behind this computer a few days ago, as ATV users climbed the north side of Sleepy Hollow for some fun at the top of the hills there.  Of course, it only takes a spark from one of these to hit some dry brush and then an inferno could develop from there.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant project to clear brush in perimeter areas within Carbon Canyon has been conducted these past months to help mitigate the hazards, but there are still plenty of areas within and near the Canyon that are subject to wildfires.

So, let's hope that a repeat of 2008 is kept away for another year, but that means that everyone from fire agencies to commuters to local residents have to be extra aware and careful of the risks that develop when extreme conditions arise, and which might, actually, be the "new normal."

Carbon Canyon Fire History: The Conflagration of 1990

It was late June 1990 when a transient started a fire that raged throughout Carbon Canyon and scorched over 6,600 acres and destroyed fourteen houses, all of these in the community of Sleepy Hollow.

To the west in Brea, the flames came very near to destroying the La Vida Mineral Springs Cafe, which, notably, was said to have been "built on the site of a 19th-Century stagecoach stop," a claim that has no basis.   The owner of the restaurant, Don Himes, who noted the structure was 64 years old, placing its construction in 1926, which squares with some of the sources noted in this blog, was also grateful for a Los Angeles County Fire Department five-engine crew that preserved the cafe from the inferno.  Significantly, this crew worked from the cafe roof and Carbon [Canyon] Creek, which ran directly behind it and had to deal with "bamboo" that caught fire.  This is the notorious arundo donax, which has been under an intensive eradication program along the creek since the November 2008 blaze.

There were also concerns that the fire could consume portions of Olinda Village, though the community was spared major damage.  At any rate, a Los Angeles Times article on the 29th went into great detail concerning the fire's effects and quoted many canyon residents.

Moreover, hundreds of firefighters manned the lines on the fire and at least eight sustained minor injuries.  Other damage included the destruction of some four miles of phone lines, affecting service to nearly 1,000 customers, while Southern California Edison lost a few power poles and cell tower (how many of us had those massive things in '90?) and Southern California Gas shut down service in the area until the blaze was over.

A large number of the more than 200 residents of Sleepy Hollow had evacuated the scene and 30-plus year resident Don Briney, who still lives in the neighborhood, pronounced the fire "the worst one we've ever seen," eclipsing even the 1958 fire, which occurred when he was a fairly new resident.  Briney was able to save his home by using his garden house and wetting the structure overnight, but he and his wife expressed concern that fire crews were no adequate in their part of the fire zone.  An Orange County fire captain, Dan Young, countered that crews were there, but were focused on houses where brush clearance had taken place according to the department's recommendations, because these residences had "the most likelihood of being saved.  Indeed, with the thick growth of trees and brush, it was remarked that there was great surprise that there wasn't more damage.

The most notable loss in the fire was what has been called "the Doctor's house," a sprawling 8,000 square foot house that sat on top of the hill above Hillside Drive on the northern portion of Sleepy Hollow, where the lion's share of the damage in the fire occurred.  Another two-story residence was consumed completely, leaving 48 cinder block columns, a chimney, several blackened cars and an indoor pool with water blackened by burned wood from the house.

One reisident, Robin Overholser described the fire as "a tidal wave of flame, while Yvette Magliozzi, commented that "the smoke was so bad you couldn't sleep."  Overcome with emotion, Linda Wolverton exclaimed that she gave a firefighter "a big old hug" and credited crews with saving the community.

Still, a state forestry department captain, Bruce Brown, noted that the area, with its proximity of houses to open space with the density of plant material prone to extreme dryness, was "designed for disaster" and commented that "it could have been a bad, bad situation."

In the over 20 years since, more houses have been added to the Canyon and more will undoubtedly be built (with the Madrona/Canyon Crest project back in play again on the Brea side).  Even with improvements in prevention, firefighting tactics and communication, and other factors, the risk of catastrophic fire will not go away, especially if some predictions of the effects of climate change hold true.