Lone Pine Canyon Fuel Reduction Project

[Wrightwood]

The San Bernardino National Forest has released details about the proposed actions for Lone Pine Canyon Fuels Reduction Project.

The objectives, purpose, need for the project, proposed action and map are all available online at the Wrightwood Fire Safe Council website.
http://www.wrightwoodfsc.com/

[Wrightwood]

The final document has been signed and the Lone Pine Canyon Fuel Reduction Project will begin soon.

To see the final document: http://www.wrightwoodfsc.com/

[Wrightwood]

Here's the latest on the fuel reduction treatment for Lone Pine Canyon.

During the past 2 weeks work has been started on the mechanical discing of the fuel breaks along the east ridge line. The operation has not been visible from Lone Pine Canyon Road because it's at the top.

Work was stopped during the Runway Fire and should resume soon.

They start at the top and work their way down because it's easier on the equipment going downhill.

[Wrightwood]

Gabe Garcia, Front Country District Ranger from San Bernardino National Forest gave this update on the Lone Pine Canyon fuel reduction today:

SBNF has a dozer above Lone Pine Canyon working the fuels breaks nearest the community.  He has been pulled off on red flag days, when fire break out locally and when we are into a project activity level of "E".  On "D" days, he works until 1pm.  If he cannot make the progress we desire, we will order up 2 more dozers to assist.

The dozer operation is to disc using an implement developed at the San Dimas Lab. We currently have 2 available and have ordered parts to repair the 3rd.

In areas where the dozer cannot safely work due to slope, hand crews will follow-up to achieve the desired break.  We have placed an order for crews and have been putting every crew to work.  At this time, they are focused on a fuel breaks around Angelus Oaks, Big Bear and Arrowhead, where mortality and fuel conditions are worse.  As they wrap up the work above, they will be shifted up to Lone Pine to secure the gaps in the dozer lines.  I am hearing that they are close to completing some of the work on the Mountain Top so we should have crews down here soon.

Our plan is to put fuel breaks in place so we can pull off a prescribed burn this winter.  As you may have been hearing, we are expecting a mild el'nino this winter.  If this pans out and conditions are optimal, we may pull off two burns.  I don't know if we will be in prescription to implement the second burn but we will gear up to take advantage of optimal conditions.

[Wrightwood]

The Lone Pine Canyon fuel break looks great and is about 85% complete.

[ForestGal]

Great picture!!  When I took my sister back to the airport last Monday, she inquired about all the trail-looking paths.  I told her what was going on.  She lives in Portland and is a hiker too, been on some lovely ones with her in the Mt. Hood forest.

[LasPulgas]

This doesn't look anything like what I expected a firebreak to look like...

It looks like an elegant Celtic tapestry woven on the hillside.

Er....  This isn't a Rorshak test or something is it   

If it is.... How'd I do?!   

[Stitches]

[KWBoy]

That's what they are!!!    My son and I saw that a while back and we thought it was crop circles. 

sure looks like crop circles to me!

[Chesslike]

Not only is that mosaic pattern more attractice than a clear cut fire break, it works just as well at slowing down an advancing fire.

It also works to keep the rodent population down in Wrightwood. It is a scientifically and computer generated maze that actually disorients the rodents and causes them to head back to Devore when they really think they are going to Wrightwood.

[Nolena]

Not only is that mosaic pattern more attractice than a clear cut fire break, it works just as well at slowing down an advancing fire.

It also works to keep the rodent population down in Wrightwood. It is a scientifically and computer generated maze that actually disorients the rodents and causes them to head back to Devore when they really think they are going to Wrightwood.

You been walking around that maze drinking happy juice a little too much, Bob? 

[Chesslike]

You been walking around that maze drinking happy juice a little too much, Bob? 

Nolena, I could of sworn that was you that told me to drink that loco weed tea for energy to hike the PCT. I know, I know, I am not suppose to swear. 

[BOS#1FAN]

So is this reduction plan actually going to help stop fire from reaching Wrightwood, or is just there to make us sleep better.

[clint]

A little fire basics first in case everyone doesn't know this already.
Fire moves sixteen times faster up hill, than on flat terrain. That's not with a wind pushing it. Just slope. The South side, or northern exposure of Lone Pine Canyon is dense with heavy fuels that are mix of flashy fuels and heavy woody fuels. So LPC is a long uphill funnel of medium to dense fuel that would really rip in a fire. The idea is to slow it down, and give Firefighters some ability to work.

The Fuel Breaks serve several purposes:

They are cut on the ridges on the heavily fueled northern exposures. A fire starting down canyon from any of them will hit a break in continous fuels and maybe not stop, but should at least slow down.

Although difficult to determine from the road, they come fairly close to the roadway with a band of brush left to maintain "viewscape". This band of remaining fuel can be very quickly cut through to the fuel break with a dozer should fire move up the canyon. This lets crews do something substantial very rapidly.

Tankers can drop retardent on the thinned fuel breaks and it can be more effective than in heavy fuels.

Fuel breaks serve as anchor points for safe burning out operations. In the right conditions fire fighters could safely start a back burn from a fuel break.

And lastly remember that these fuel reductions are designed to boundaries around future controlled burns to create a staggered small pattern mosaic of regrowth over several years. The first burn was to supposed to be this year but it was just too wet.

So yes. They really do a lot to help protect Wrightwood.

To learn about these and other projects in the works attend a Fire Safe Council Meeting.

The third Tuesday of each month in the Fire House museum on Cedar, at 7:00 PM

[BOS#1FAN]

Well I have only lived here for a couple of years, and Im not much of a fire guru, however If a fire is in Lone Pine Canyon, and the general wind direction for the area is out of the north or the south, wouldnt it push it across the mountains and not into Wrightwood?  Unless the fire were at the top section of Lone Pine. But then it would be past the Fuel Break 

[Nolena]

A friend of mine (who has been fighting fires in the San Gabriels since slightly before God invented dirt) relayed to me his knowledge of fire behavior in Lone Pine Canyon.
As far as he can remember, fires which have started in Lone Pine/Swarthout Canyon have historically burned west (uphill) to approximately the conjunction of Lone Pine Canyon Road, and Swarthout Canyon Road, and then turned north (out Lone Pine Canyon Road toward Highway 138) due to prevailing winds.
Strange, but true.

[BOS#1FAN]

That just seems more logical to me.  I just dont see a fire running up lone pine along the hillside going towards Wrightwood, it see it going over the south side toward lytle creek, or going north towards Hwy 138

[TableMtn]

You have to remember in a very large fire situation, the fire will create it's own weather.  Prevailing winds may dominate on a small to moderate fire, but if you've got a barn burner, it can create a funnel or chimney situation where it will crank up a canyon and overpower the prevailing wind patterns.  I was on a fire where we were watching bolts of lighting come down out of the convection column and light small fires around us.  HOOOWEEE, that was exciting!  Heck--the convection column actually created SNOW on the Wheeler fire over by Ojai in 1985.  That was when the backfire slammed into the head of the main fire.  At first, the person in charge of the lighting operation thought it was ash....

[bandit]

I have seen lightning that has been created by fires that I have been on and whirlwinds and other stange weather patterns but never snow, that must have been amazing to see.

[BOS#1FAN]

I dont suppose the snow stuck