The heavily-visited Angeles National Forest is reeling due to damage from past wildfires, heavy snowpack and torrential rainstorms that have closed visitor centers, day use areas, access roads, campgrounds and hiking trails, according to data obtained during a monthlong investigation by this news group.
The forest’s second most visited area, Chantry Flat in the forest’s southwest section north of Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, has been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Last month, Angeles National Forest (ANF) Supervisor Ramon “Ray” Torres extended its closure through May 2024.
In the high country, Caltrans repair work along miles of Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2) — the only east-west roadway in the Angeles National Forest — has cut off access to most of the hiking, picnicking and campgrounds. Highway 2 is closed easterly, from the Mt. Wilson Road/Red Box marker near La Cañada Flintridge to the junction at Highway 39 north of Azusa, cutting off access to Wrightwood.
Repair work by the U.S. Forest Service, responsible for managing the 700,000-acre urban forest within an hour or so of 20 million Southern Californians, has been stalled by a two-year delay in funding that held up projects and extended closures to would-be hikers, often with no reopening timelines.
An analysis from data supplied by the U.S. Forest Service as of July 13 shows that more than 38% of the campgrounds are closed. With recent brush fires, including the Dry Fire at Castaic Lake that was 90% contained as of July 13, more recreation closures could be coming.
The one-two punch from the destructive Bobcat Fire of 2020 that burned for more than three months, and from record rain and snowfall in 2022-2023, makes repair plans tougher to complete. But that hasn’t stopped some from scrutinizing the Forest Service’s response.
“They are supposed to manage the forest, not close the forest,” said Glen Owens, founder of the Big Santa Anita Historical…
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