Heavy Rains Leave Roads Clogged

As wildfires were tearing through Southern California two years ago, firefighters let Ron Albright and his wife return to their home in the San Bernardino Mountains to grab their belongings.

They had little choice about their route back out of the forest. With paved roads blocked by other fleeing homeowners, they took a bumpy dirt road built to accommodate fire crews.

This summer, mountain dwellers might not have that option.

Damage from a series of powerful winter storms has closed more than 2,000 miles of fire access roads used to protect 2.3 million acres of forests in Southern California.

The U.S. Forest Service is rushing to make repairs, but nervous residents fear the work might not be done in time to save lives and property.

“We’re vulnerable now more than ever,” said Albright, 58, who has lived in the mountains 30 years and twice fled approaching flames. “For those who live up here, those roads are our Plan B.”

The winter storms dropped 90 inches of rain in some mountain areas, sending tons of dirt and boulders cascading down hillsides.

Roads were turned into rushing rivers of debris that ripped drainage pipes from the ground and left them crumpled.

The wet weather also spawned teeming vegetation that’s steadily turning into kindling under triple-digit summer temperatures. Plants and bushes that are usually knee-high this time of year are waist- or chest-high.

Combined with an infestation of bark beetles that has killed thousands of trees, the conditions could spark one of the worst fire seasons in memory.

“Given all of the rain, it’s the worst I’ve seen in 35 years,” said Alan Edler, a Forest Service civil engineering technician in Angeles National Forest. “This year, the road repairs are extreme.”

The roads provide vital access and escape routes for fire crews. Without them, firefighters must rely on paved routes -- many of which are also damaged -- or get more help from water-dropping aircraft.

In May, President Bush signed an emergency funding bill allocating about $25 million to fix roads in Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests.

“If there is a serious fire this summer, crews simply won’t be able to reach vast tracts of land, and entire forests could go up in smoke,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said while announcing allocation of the federal money.

“This funding is urgently needed to fix the roads, protect communities and save lives,” she said.

The Forest Service had hoped to finish the work before the start of fire season in early June. But with Congress slower than expected in providing the money, some of the repairs might not be finished until October.

“Every roadway that we have available to us is extremely important,” said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “We’ll just have to deal with it.”

So far this summer, two small fires have rattled nerves in the San Bernardino Mountains. A 100-acre blaze in early July forced the evacuation of 1,200 children from youth camps.

The fears are fanned by memories of 2003. The Old Fire that threatened Albright’s step-down home with its inviting patio was one of 15 wildfires that killed 24 people, destroyed more than 3,600 homes and blackened at least 750,000 acres throughout Southern California.

Flames took out several dwellings on Albright’s street, but his house survived.

In Angeles National Forest, Edler is overseeing repairs along 1,000 miles of access roads. Contractors hired by the Forest Service have spread out to fix and clear the routes.

In one spot, erosion has eaten into a winding, 12-foot-wide dirt road leading to a fire substation, leaving a precipitous ledge less than 2 feet wide. It’s a harrowing walk from one side to the other.

The remaining roadway is propped up by jagged bedrock and dirt. Forest Service officials estimate it will cost about $250,000 to make the repairs and reinforce the hillside to prevent future slides.

“The major challenge we have is how to make repairs so you don’t have to lose what you’ve fixed,” Edler said.

Albright is encouraged that roads are being repaired and hopes that firefighters will have all the tools necessary to protect his home and others.

“The goal was to get roads open by fire season and that hasn’t happened,” he said. “It’s not paranoia on our part. It’s just not having a lot of choices when the worst-case scenario happens.”