19 July 2021

Carbon Canyon Creek Cleanup Coming

There is some good news, thanks to the City of Chino Hills, regarding the cleanup of trees in Carbon Canyon Creek that could contribute significantly to the spread of wildfires in the Canyon.

The City's Public Works Department has budgeted just north of $45,000 during the 2021-2022 fiscal year to hire the Santa Ana Watershed Authority, or SAWA, to kill palm trees that, when set afire, literally explode spreading sparks and embers to surrounding areas and spreading flames that make these wildfires considerably worse.  This is along the creek from Chino Hills Parkway west along Carbon Canyon Road to the Summit Ranch community.

What SAWA will do is drill holes in the trunks, inject an herbicide that spreads systemically in the tree and leads to wilting and death.  After that, the city's commercial tree maintenance contractor, West Coast Arborists, will go in and remove the trees.  This latter part of the plan has to take place after mid-September when bird nesting season ends.

A separate project is the hiring of SAWA and a team from the California Conservation Corps to go in on 20 September and remove the remains of a massive eucalyptus tree that, earlier this year, fell from its location next to the creek in Sleepy Hollow.  Obviously, this will be welcome as these trees are very intensive due to shedding of bark, piles of leaves, and the oils from the gum found inside. 

The work from the City on this is much appreciated as efforts continue to be taken to mitigate wildfire risk, especially during this extended drought and the dangerous conditions that have resulted as climate change continues to make its devastating effects known.


    


13 July 2021

 The Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council was honored at this evening's Chino Hills City Council meeting with presentations by Mayor Brian Johsz and council members of certificates from Supervisor Curt Hagman and the City for the CCFSC's being awarded a 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assembly member Phillip Chen.


The Mayor said very kind words about our 20-year track record of service in working to mitigate wildfire risk in the Canyon and Council member Ray Marquez, a long-time liaison between the CCFSC and the City with important involvement in our work, lauded some of the organization's key initiatives.


The recognition is greatly appreciated, though we have much work to do, especially as the City of Chino Hills is now readying to deal with the removal of palm and eucalyptus trees in the creeks in the Canyon and our persistent drought and bone-dry conditions mean greater vigilance is required during the increasing threat of wildfires.