Yesterday's Second Round of Tres Hermanos Ranch Tours

With a waiting list of a few hundred persons from the inaugural tours, held last September, of Tres Hermanos Ranch, owned by the City of Industry and adjacent to Carbon Canyon in the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar, the governing body, the Tres Hermanos Conservation Authority (TRCA) offered a second route of visits to the ranch yesterday.

Four groups were ferried into the property from the nearby Diamond Bar Community Center and made three stops during a warm morning, learning about the management, natural history and cultural history of the ranch.  We'll see when and what future offerings will be, but there is certainly strong community interest in this remarkable place.

To read more about yesterday's excursions, check out: https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2024/06/15/tres-hermanos-ranch-tour-postview-william-benjamin-scott-1868-1920/.

Chino Hills Historical Society Talk on Carbon Canyon History TONIGHT

Join us this evening for a presentation to the Chino Hills Historical Society on Carbon Canyon history, specifically to a site off Canyon Hills Road north of Carbon Canyon Road where the former Workmen's Circle/Kinder Ring camp went through a series of uses, including the Canyon Hills Swim and Saddle Club, the Canyon Hills Country Club, the Ponderosa Bar and Motel and Purple Haze.

The talk will large cover the period from 1964-1975, but will make brief references to the recent use of the site, including today's Canyon Hills Stables and Canyon Hills Cottages, but the most bizarre element will undoubtedly be the short and strange history of Ski Villa, with its infamous plastic needle slope and which lasted under 2 years at the location.  A special guest will be Ingrid P. Wicken, who runs the California Ski Library of Norco and who will share some Ski Villa history, as well.

The presentation is at 7 p.m. at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive, across from Ayala High School and we hope to see you there!

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.

Carbon Canyon Talk for Chino Hills Historical Society on 10 June

Chino Hills Historical Society Presents:

Camp Kinder Ring to Purple Haze, Part Two

Monday, June 10, 2024 (Rescheduled from June 17)

 

The Chino Hills Historical Society will host a presentation by Chino Hills resident and historian Paul R. Spitzzeri at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 10 at the Chino Hills Community Center, 14250 Peyton Drive.  (Rescheduled from June 17.)

 “Our 2024 meetings focus on Carbon Canyon history,” said Denise Cattern, President. “Paul R. Spitzzeri, our local historian has put together a series of talks on the subject.”

The June 10 Chino Hills Historical Society meeting will continue the “Camp Kinder Ring to Purple Haze” series, “Part Two” – about the history of the site off Canyon Hills Road where Ski Villa was located, Canyon Hills Country Club, the Ponderosa Bar and Motel, and Purple Haze, where counterculture was in full swing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Mr. Spitzzeri has invited special guest Ingrid Wicken, of the California Ski Library in Norco, to attend the meeting to share her knowledge about Ski Villa. 

On Monday, October 14, the next presentation will be “In Hot Water: The La Vida and Carbon Canyon Mineral Springs Resorts.”

Mr. Spitzzeri has lived in Chino Hills for 27 years. He is the Museum Director at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in the City of Industry, where he has worked since 1988. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in history from California State University, Fullerton. He has also published local, regional and state history in many journals and anthologies. His book, The Workman and Temple Families of Southern California, won a 2009 Award of Merit from the

American Association for State and Local History. Since 2008, Paul has maintained the blog www.carboncanyonchronicle.blogspot.com. He also writes a monthly column about local history for Champion Newspapers.

 The Chino Hills Historical Society is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization funded through memberships and donations.  Sign up for the Historical Society’s email list by sending an email to chhistory@aol.com. For additional information, please send an email or call (909) 597-6449. 

Carbon Canyon Road Truck Ordinance Takes Effect 29 May

Chino Hills City Council member Peter Rogers posted on Facebook that the prohibition of trucks of a certain length (those with 4 or more axles) will take effect on Wednesday, 29 May.  This effort has been a long while in the making, with a great deal of the time spent waiting for approvals from CalTrans.  The initiative came from Carbon Canyon residents and others pressing for what has only been done once before in the Golden State's massive state highway system.

This image is from the CalTrans "State Route 142 (Carbon Canyon Road) Truck Restriction Study: Final Report"

Part of the process included meetings with CalTrans personnel, City officials and residents and those discussions were respectful and fruitful.  The reality is that these things take time and Council members Rogers and Ray Marquez are to be thanked for their role in making this happen, while cooperation also had to be obtained with the City of Brea, as well, so much appreciation to our neighbor to the west, as well as to CalTrans.

Obviously, there is the passing of an ordinance or law, then there is the actual enforcement.  Let's hope that there is an effective monitoring and citation system in place from the beginning, so that we can have, as much as possible, a state highway that is as safe as it can reasonably be.

Gold Spotted Oak Borer Spotted in Los Angeles County

This morning's e-edition of the "Inland Valley Daily Bulletin" has a lengthy article about the fact that the tiny Gold-Spotted Oak Borer, or GSOB, which has killed tens of thousands of oak trees in the American Southwest in the last two decades, is entering this region because of imported firewood.

Image from the American Public Gardens Association.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency and is hiring three foresters and will work with CalFire and other agencies. The potential for local devastation is enormous and we'll post any follow-ups that come our way.

Brush Drop Off A Force for Good in Carbon Canyon

Yesterday morning, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council, in conjunction with its partners, the City of Chino Hills and Waste Management, held its annual spring Brush Drop Off near Fire Station 64 on Canon Lane, as the Council continues its efforts, over nearly a quarter century, to mitigate wildfire risk in a variety of ways, including his important program.

It was a cool and damp morning, great, however, for residents on the Chino Hills side of the Canyon to cut down brush, trees and other plant material that provide ready fuel for wildfires and bring them to the site where a pair of roll-off bins were available.  A trio of Council volunteers assisted residents in placing the plant material in the bins, which the disposal company provided courtesy of the City.  This May the 4th was truly a force for good in the Canyon.

With all the rain producing all of the brush, it is vital that we do whatever we can to keep the level of material as low as possible, especially as warmer, drier weather will quickly dry it out and raise the risk of wildfire damage, though we, of course, hope that we will avoid this for another year!  Thanks to the City, Waste Management and the Council for their collaborative efforts on this critical endeavor and a second Brush Drop Off will likely be held this fall.