Mount Wilson Burns at the Turn of the Century

[Wrightwood]

Fire Behavior In Southern California Chaparral Before Fire Control:

Richard A.  Minnich
Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521

Abstract.

Reconstruction from written accounts of three chaparral burns (1896, 1898, 1900) before fire control on Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains, California reveals an erratic smoulder-and-run fire behavior pattern. Although these burns persisted for two to three months during summer drought, their ultimate sizes were relatively small. Chaparral in southern California watersheds before 1900 was described as having been fragmented by previous burns. Such patchy stand structure can develop from frequent anthropogenic ignitions because the growth of fires is constrained by previous burns; fire size is inversely related to ignition rates. Season-long burns from relatively few ignitions can also result in complex vegetation fragmentation owing to irregular fire behavior and to development of secondary burns from smouldering or by movement of embers long distances beyond the fire zone. Lightning alone could be responsible for widespread fire occurrence because ignitions can be stored in large fuels until the advent of dry weather and because lightning ignitions are frequent relative to the maturation period of stands. Incipient suppression of small fires modified the presuppression fragmented chaparral in the San Gabriel Mountains. In 1919 and 1924, after two decades of fire suppression, enormous high-intensity conflagrations were driven largely by strong Santa Ana winds, and this pattern has continued to the present.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119467800/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

[Wrightwood]

From our friends Tom Chester & Jane Strong at the Field Guide to the San Gabriel Mountains: Places: Mt. Wilson


Mt. Wilson Historical Timeline


http://tchester.org/sgm/places/mt_wilson_timeline.html

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

[FIGHT ON]

GRAHAM,
Any idea exactly where that fire is in your picture? It looks like it's somewhere close to the Pleasant View Ridge.
It would be interesting to see that area 85 years after it burned.

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

Checking out the area of the burn and smoke, I would agree that it is the Pleasant Ridge area...about ten miles south of Pearblossom, up in the Juniper Hills area. I talked to old timers in Littlerock, who said that the area in the Juniper Hills area was once thick with Pinion Pines and Jefferies and a little bit of Cedar. When I rode horses back there (70s) I remembered heavy brush,,,about 4 to 6 tall. So, at least it took 40-60 years to get a mature growth. beautiful country back there...I hope that they will leave some Islands of growth to protect the wildlife, provide watershed in the canyons. Good eye on the location!!

[GRAHAM_RANCH]

The 1924 San Gabriel Fire was considered to be the e worst fire in the history of the mountains (at that time)...it burned 40,000 acres and resulted in the forest service building roads into the forest to aid in fighting fire. The Station fire was about 117,000 acres bigger.