That’s because there has been no fuels management in the Angeles National Forest for, oh, 30 to 40 years. There’s a huge build-up of scrub, understory and dead trees waiting for the right conditions to light it up.
I used to go up to Mt. Wilson on weekends in the mid-80’s. Even then, I was amazed that they allowed the trees to get so large, so close to that much valuable equipment. Were I running the show, I would have had the top of that mountain denuded for at least 200 yards around that entire site in every direction, for personnel safety if for no other reason. A fire starting on the slopes below could trap people up there with no way out very easily.
As bad as the situation is on Mt. Wilson, the situation on Mt. Harvard (just south of Mt. Wilson) is even worse, with more fuel coming right up to the electronics sites.
That’s because there has been no fuels management in the Angeles National Forest for, oh, 30 to 40 years.
We got plenty of cool bike lanes and pretty center strips, though...
Or the possibility that one of the facilities could itself suffer a malfunction that would ignite a fire.
I had that same thought tonight, about the obvious need for a good size buffer around all that gear.
ah yes.. the environutjobs didn’t even want cleared brush. That 50 yrs. without clearing anything was irresponsible!
” I would have had the top of that mountain denuded for at least 200 yards around that entire site in every direction, for personnel safety if for no other reason”
They can’t do it, they are on leased land from the Forest Service and have no control over the vegetation.