Holy Jim Canyon Fire

On Monday, 6 Aug. 2018, an arsonist lit fire in Holy Jim Canyon, which quickly spread, and two weeks later burnt 22,986 acres. Since then, flareups have occurred within the burn perimeter.

(Photo: Holy Fire on 6 Aug 2018.
I consider this the most expensive solar filter I've ever used.)

A local politician found the opportunity to remind us that the damages from this fire are a result of unchecked mental health issues in our society: Lake Elsinore Councilman Bob Magee on the fires of mental illness

While unhinged persons are a threat, and such persons started two recent conflagrations in Riverside County, Magee's argument downplays the contribution of climate, weather, and topology in making fire devastating, whether it starts by arson or by accident.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has suggested that environmentalists are to blame for not allowing forest thinning, claiming that an increase in fire severity is due to a build up of dead trees. In the case of the Holy Fire, steep terrain and abundance of chaparral makes thinning difficult. It's also not clear to me how thinning operations would make forests less prone to fire. Heavy equipment, for example, disturbs undergrowth, promotes erosion, and invites invasive weeds that can make fire more likely.

Yet others, suggest that California's governing political party is to blame for severity of recent wildfires. It's unclear to me how State Officials can be directly responsible for management of Federal forests, but that doesn't stop any finger pointing.

To examine the connection between dead trees and fire, I superimposed a map of the Holy Fire on a Forest Service map of tree mortality. It shows little correlation between the Holy fire and dead trees:

Note that the large pink area on the left is a Tier 2 hazard zone defined by the Forest Service. I believe this definition is based on threat to a region such as a watershed. So, in this zone, should a fire break out, it will likely not be contained till it reaches the perimeter of the watershed. Combined with the presence of high-density tree mortality, this warrants a Tier 2 designation. At least, that's how I interpret the map, yet, there is something odd about tree mortality maps. They are based on aerial surveys from 2012-2017, but close-ups of the region show mostly oak woodlands, chaparral and riparian canyons. So, it is not clear to me how how these fire designations are determined -- a project for further research

jg

Links
https://patch.com/california/lakeelsinore-wildomar/op-ed-ignoring-fires-mental-illness-we-need-change

Tree Mortality Viewer

CalFire Incident map

Hotter weather turbocharges US West wildfires

Wildomar Fire vis-a-vis the proposed LEAPS project's transmission line.

Many of us in Wildomar and surrounding communities are rightfully giving thanks to CalFire and those fighting the fire at the front lines and from within the organization. We're also giving thanks to the tax base that makes such a response possible, but we should also remember that 10 years ago many local activists stood up to what was apparently a ploy by a small corporation to establish a transmission line for private gain. Activists like Bridgette Moore, John Lloyd, Kristan Lloyd, to name a few that I'm still connected with, were able to win a local election and expose the flawed plans of the chief enabler of the LEAPS project. 

Also, our work halting the transmission line would not have been possible without Federal and State laws (NEPA and CEQA) that require environmental impact reports. Surprisingly, the backers of the transmission line have not given up, and have recently resubmitted their application. So, the fight continues. 

My compilation photo shows a plane last night dropping fire retardant. Also in the photo is my simulation of the proposed transmission line. I dug this file up this morning. I had last labeled it "work-in-progress" so I still need to verify the vertical placement of the towers, but I'm confident of the locations where I placed them. (Update: I'll stand by this simulated view. My placement of towers and simulated view is good.)

jg

Talega-Escondido/Valley-Serrano Interconnect (TV/VS)

For years a small group of entrepreneurs under the name Nevada Hydro have been trying to put up a transmission line through the neighboring Cleveland National Forest. This project began by leveraging the LEAPS application, a pumped storage hydro-electric plant using the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District as a backer. Support for LEAPS has dwindled, largely because the project is unprofitable (On paper it would lose $120-124 million per yer and return only 80 % of the energy it consumed). I've documented much of the history of LEAPS and the TE/VS on a website called www.stopleaps.info.

Nevada Hydro continues to promote their transmission line, which would be profitable, for them.

Note that Nevada Hydro is not a utility company and does not have any completed hydro-electric projects to their name. I believe they incorporated for the specific purpose of putting together the LEAPS business arrangement that would have left them with the revenue from the TE/VS transmission line serving LEAPS.

One problem with the TE/VS is that it crosses a fire prone area that has unusual conditions of steep terrain, inflammable ground cover, and proximity to ocean breezes making fire fighting exceptionally difficult as the these conditions can easily redirect fires and trap ground crews in canyons. Aircraft are essential and have been used in most of the recent fires in this region. This is not a good place to add high-voltage transmission lines.

Below are some diagrams I've created summarizing the recent fire history of our region.

Nevada Hydro is offering a public workshop on their proposal this afternoon from 4-8 at Murrieta Community Center, 41810 Juniper Street, Murrieta, CA  92562.

jg

The "State" defends property rights

On July 3, 2009, I was hiking up the Santa Rosa escarpment and saw a smoke plume three miles away. The plume was from a brush fire, small by California standards. The fire stayed small because firefighters and aircraft quickly arrived to put the fire out.

The firefighters were protecting the very homes that provoked the moratorium on construction on this ridge(seen in the 3rd photo below). Two weeks later I photographed the area. The photos below can be spliced together for a complete picture of the scene. They show homes on the ridgeline, some recently built or under construction, and a burn line that stops just short of these properties -- a testament to the concern and quality of state and county fire fighters.

This defense of these properties should be remembered everytime one of these property owners acuses efforts to impose development standards as governmental intrusion on their property rights.

jg

Failure for Viewshed Protection; Moratorium on Santa Rosa Escarpment lifted

The Californian reports that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has lifted the moratorium on construction on the Santa Rosa Ridgeline:

Lifting Santa Rosa Ridgeline Moratorium

I'm disappointed that no plan to develop protections for this scenic area was made and that Supervisor Stone's suggestion to create an ordinance was not supported by the other supervisors. Controlling development on the ridgeline, and the broader issue of view-shed protections, brings up the issue private property rights. As reported, many citizens whose homes or plans are affected by the moratorium and would-be ordinance cite the intrusion on their property rights. Yet these same people, because of their location, are highly dependent on services from the county and state. Below is my collection of recent fires on the Santa Rosa escarpment.  (Click for full size)

Fire fighters take great risk protecting homes on top of these hillsides, where steep hills, a hot and dry climate, strong updrafts, and shifting winds make for exceptionally dangerous and unpredictable fires. Three times in the past 4 years I've watched airplanes drop fire retardants to keep hillside fires from overtaking homes on these slopes. I can’t image that the small number of property owners could ever maintain the fire-fighting protections they need. (I could add road construction and other services to that list.) In light of these risks and services, it's not asking too much for residents on these slopes to work within some aesthetic guidelines.

One homeowner commented about having to look at the red-tiled roofs of the valley. I believe this was a rhetorical point and not to be taken as his thoughtful opinion, but it is a fair consideration. I detest when a developer destroys the natural contour of the land in the valley or above it. But if this resident truly doesn't want to look at the houses in the valley, he should build a ways back from the edge, which is what a view-shed ordinance would require.

jg

Brush fires

The center of this picture shows a hill that burned about 10 years ago. The hill is split at the middle of the picture by a dark vegetation line showing where the fire stopped. The left side burned, the right didn't. The left is now mostly grasses and small herbs; the right is chaparral, consisting of large bushes that are mostly 4-6 feet high but can get up to 10 feet high.

My region offers ample opportunities to observe brush fires. The chaparral and forests are dry throughout June through October. The 14-20 inches of rain per year falls mostly in the winter months.

Colors and Recovery, Lizards and Flowers

(Update 12 Jun 10: I've added plant identifications under each photo.)

Within the last three years, the region south of Palomar Observatory burned. This fire displaced many people for a few days and even jumped an eight-lane lane freeway. This year I noticed an abundance of a plant commonly called "deerweed", though I object to the "weed" part of its name.