FIRST FIRE, THEN FLOOD THREATENS BOUQUET CANYON AREA LIKELY TO FACE MUDSLIDE DANGERS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Concerned with the potential for mudslides this fall along burned over areas of Bouquet Canyon Road, the U.S. Forest service has begun Operation BAER.

The Burn Area Emergency Rehabilitation team will be asking federal officials to place stacks of straw between the charred hillsides and structures in the area, and install trash racks to catch falling debris.

The program also includes special efforts to monitor the culverts to make sure that they are cleaned regularly and are flowing as they should.

``We're going to provide some protection by placing straw bail barriers behind structures,'' said Vic Andresem, hydrologist for the Angeles National Forest and BAER team leader. ``The bails, staked into the ground, will create a makeshift dam.''

Rehabilitation comes after the fire that started May 11 and spread over nearly 5,000 acres to the east alongside Bouquet Canyon Road.

The blaze destroyed brush in the hills within the Angeles National Forest, home to about 135 cabins, several campgrounds and horse ranches. Only two small structures were destroyed.

The makeshift dam is expected to be about 1 1/2 to two feet high and long enough to protect homes and a restaurant located on the forest land.

``They will stop the debris until natural regrowth takes over,'' Andresem said. ``The straw bails will decompose after a couple of years.''

In addition to the straw, officials are planning to build several trash racks - metal pipes about three to four feet long staked vertically near the hills to serve as a strainer for large tree limbs and rocks rolling off the burned out hillsides.

``It's a place where debris will pile up,'' said Andresem. ``Finer material and water will proceed, but larger debris will be caught in the rack. We'll go and check it periodically.''

The metal trash racks provide more of a permanent feature within burn areas and last longer than wooden barriers that had been used in previous years. The wooden versions were found to rot quickly.

Andresem, who has been monitoring the burn areas, will be working with U.S. Forest Service's Santa Clara/Mojave River District Ranger Cid Morgan and submit a request to the Regional Ranger in San Francisco for funding to begin putting the preventive measures in place.

The Big Oaks Lodge is one of the structures that has been earmarked to receive protection if the funding is approved.

``If they are willing to do that, it's great,'' said Dee White, owner the area's only restaurant. ``The fire burned right to our door.''

While White welcomes any assistance she can get, she hopes the rains stay away.

``I can only take one disaster at a time,'' White said. ``I can't conceive another (disaster), but I'll sure take mud over flames.''

But the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center reports say that El Nino's rainy conditions this winter season are quite possibly going against White's hopes.

``It appears most likely that a gradual warming of the tropical Pacific will continue over the next several months,'' the center states in a climate bulletin on its Web site. ``Weak to moderate El Nino conditions are likely by the end of 2002.''

Marguerite Happy, a 19-year-old resident on Bouquet Canyon Road just off Texas Canyon Road, has been monitoring the weather conditions and said that it's now among one of her top concerns for the area.

``They expect El Nino, and we expect it to flood,'' Happy said. ``The roads are going to flood. It's going to be a nightmare.''

Los Angeles County officials agree with Happy, saying there is only so much that can be done to protect the area.

``Even with good preparation, the area is still going to be impacted,'' said Mark Caddick, district engineer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. ``We've surveyed how best we can protect the roadway, but even with those measures it will still cause closures.''

Officials say they have not planned to seed the burned area.

``What we usually find out is that seeding is not very effective,'' said Andresem. ``The area is too dry and seeding is usually not effective the first season. The natural regrowth will sprout by itself.''

Los Angeles County officials have also been asked to install signs along Bouquet Canyon Road warning of falling rocks and are working in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service preparing for heavy downpours this fall.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Dee White, owner of Big Oaks Lodge off Bouquet Canyon Road, could face mudslides because of the recent fire.

(2) The hills behind Big Oaks Lodge will likely pose mudslide danger when expected autumn rains pelt slopes denuded by the area's recent brush fire.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer