Angeles Crest Highway closed for at least three months

[Mo Pho]

Looks like ACH will be closed for at least 3 months. I guess the good news is that is far less time than I was expecting

Originally Posted by Los Angeles Times

More than 160,000 acres have been scorched in the Angeles National Forest Station fire -- the worst wildfire in L.A. history. As for the road that runs through it, that's also been significantly damaged and will take about $12 million to fix. Four miles' worth of guard rails along Angeles Crest Highway will need to be replaced, since the wooden posts to which the metal beams were attached have burned and the beams are now lying on the ground. Almost all of the hundreds of road signs have been burned. And many of the thermoplastic markings dotting the pavement have also melted, according to the California Department of Transportation, which maintains the road.
Two teams of 70 people are alternating 12-hour shifts to fix the 33 miles of Angeles Crest Highway that have been closed due to the fire -- from 2.2 miles north of La Canada-Flintridge to just west of Wrightwood. According to CalTrans spokeswoman Kelly Markham, the first priority for repairs is the bottom, or southernmost, nine miles of Angeles Crest leading up to the Palmdale turnoff. She gives a timeline of "up to five weeks" for that repair, with the rest of the damage being fixed in an additional two months. According to Markham, "Basically, it's the entire road that needs to be fixed."

Again.

Angeles Crest Highway only re-opened all the way through from the 210 Freeway to Wrightwood in May; nine miles of the road were closed for four years, due to a winter storm that washed much of it away. Restoring that stretch of road cost $22 million.

"Now we're going to have to spend 50% of the money we spent three years ago to get it back up and running," Markham said. "But what can you do? That's Mother Nature."

-- Susan Carpenter

Here is some video footage of the road

+ YouTube Video

[Corvus]

Kelly Markham is a stupid government worker! It wasn't 'mother nature' it was a man made fire.
Secondly, knowing that fire is a constant in CA. They should have never used wooden support posts to hold up the guardrails.

This is going to cause extra traffic in Malibu on the weekends.

[SJMorgan]

Originally Posted by Corvus

Kelly Markham is a stupid government worker! It wasn't 'mother nature' it was a man made fire.
Secondly, knowing that fire is a constant in CA. They should have never used wooden support posts to hold up the guardrails.

This is going to cause extra traffic in Malibu on the weekends.

Actually, if you know anything about the local area, you would know that these areas should burn off by themselves every 10-20 years, man or not. What happens is that man tries to prevent and control the fires so that the areas don't burn off. What this does is make the fires far worse as there is far more fuel available.

Another factor is the weather. Our dry spell is making things really flammable here. Again, a process of nature.

Though the fire was started by man, it is entirely possible that this fire would have started anyway, by natural means. Spontaneous combustion, lightning.

AND, the Santa Monicas, yes, MALIBU, is long overdue for a HUGE fire that will destroy hundreds of homes, and burn a lot of metal and wood supported guard rails.

What ever you might think, fires in those hills are a natural part of nature. The fact that the fire was so big was partially the fault of man, trying to keep nature from burning our local forest.
In two years, you will hardly know that there was a fire. In 3 it will all look normal again. Mother Nature.

As for the guardrails, wood is a standard material. Metal would have been no better, as it warps and looses its spring when subjected to high heat. Either way, the rails would have been a total loss. Wood is easy to replace, and there is plenty in the state inventory. When subjected to fire, all guard rail systems are , well, toast. They all have to be replaced.

I am tired of people blaming "stupid government workers", or simply saying that anyone that works for the government is somehow below average. For a few on this board, the hard working, state employed specialists at the Thousand Oaks DMV that helped them through their SB100 registrations were a godsend.

Or those government paid fire fighters.

[Buck]

I guess brush burning isn't practiced here, to much of a risk? Back home in Louisiana, brush burning is a pretty regular thing in forest areas (particularly national forests), to keep the risk of big fires to a minimum. Don't know how that would work in this super dry climate though.

[SJMorgan]

Originally Posted by Buck

I guess brush burning isn't practiced here, to much of a risk? Back home in Louisiana, brush burning is a pretty regular thing in forest areas (particularly national forests), to keep the risk of big fires to a minimum. Don't know how that would work in this super dry climate though.

Burns are done occasionally, but in the canyons (not many of those in Louisiana), the brush is very greasy and explosive. Highly flammable and very hard to control. This is not grass, it is a very hardy, very dry, greasy brush. It is designed to burn on its own, generally every 10 years, but with human involvement, the burn times have extended to 20 years, making for a much greater undergrowth, and a far higher risk of wild fires and property damage.

The brush itself, and all of the wildlife and plants in the area will replace itself within three years. It is the natural order of things in the coastal and inland canyons of California.

Here in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Angeles National Forest, normal burns don't occur, and when they do, the fires are knocked down as quickly as possible in order to protect property.

The best defense when one lives in the canyons is to keep the brush clear of the property, and not have many trees that can be dry tinder to light your roof on fire.
Some home owners are using a fire retardant gel to protect the homes.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by SJMorgan

Some home owners are using a fire retardant gel to protect the homes.

I bet just using clay tiles on the roof would be a big improvement!

[SJMorgan]

Originally Posted by Buck

I bet just using clay tiles on the roof would be a big improvement!

Bit improvement and have been used for about 4 decades so far. The problem is that the heat and embers get under the eaves or in the vents, and then the house explodes.
Though design can help prevent the loss of the home, nothing beats just cutting back the brush so that the fire can't make it near the house.

This is not anything new for California canyon dwellers, or home builders. The first really big changes in building codes came after the Bel Air Brentwood fire of the early 60s. I was around to watch that one. Burned down 40 homes on our street, but, surprisingly, not ours. Nearly 500 homes were lost in the Brentwood/Bel Air area.