It appears yet another fire has begun near the Ridge Route. This time, closer to Reservoir Summit along I-5 at the Vista Del Lago exit. It is moving east and is, at this time, still out-of-control. The #EmigrantFire has the potential to burn the area along the Ridge Route between Reservoir Summit and Kelly’s Halfway Inn. We are hoping this fire doesn’t do any of that for many reasons. A “worst case” scenario for this fire would bring it into Liebre Gulch, which the Ridge Route runs alongside from Reservoir Summit to Sandberg.
Our Twitter account, @ridgeroute99, and our website will again be kept updated as this fire progresses.
Things have calmed down quite a bit on the Ridge Route, thanks to the efforts of the fire crews working the #RouteFire. The old Ridge Route was unharmed and was well away from the fire. Per USFS, it appears the reports of trucks once again traveling the Ridge Route were likely people spotting fire crews taking the roadway. They did not get any reports of heavy traffic over the roadway either during the I-5 closure. This is good news. While we do not know if the gates were open before the fire, it looks like efforts by the USFS, County of Los Angeles, and Caltrans to block the roadway through other means during the forest closure were fruitful.
I do wish to reiterate that the Ridge Route, regardless of closure, is not an alternative to I-5. Heavy vehicles should not be traversing the roadway at any time as they can and do damage the historic roadway.
If you see vehicles that should not be on the roadway, such as big rigs and similar commercial traffic, please let us know and we will inform the proper authorities. Make sure to give us where you saw them, what direction, and any description of the vehicle so we can give the best information possible.
Thank you all again for your support f0r the roadway and our organization. We look forward to seeing many of you out there on October 23, 2021 for our next CUTRR event, contingent on the forest closure or other conditions. Should be a lot of fun!
Finally some good news, mostly. The #RouteFire is mostly out and does not appear to have affected the old Ridge Route. I-5 is open and traffic seems to be flowing smoothly through the area.
There were reports of trucks once again trying to travel the old Ridge Route, which once again likely damaged the roadway. Traveling the roadway during these periods, especially with heavy trucks, can also result in injury or death due to being trapped between stuck trucks and a wildfire. Trucks can easily fall off the roadway, increasing problems for emergency crews trying to fight the fire.
We will be speaking with the Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, and the County of Los Angeles to see what can be done about this continuing problem. We have already made requests to the County for additional signage to discourage such traffic. Every report on social media touting the roadway as open, because someone saw the gates open, only makes the problem worse. The Ridge Route is not an alternate to I-5. It is not built for such traffic, which can cause irreparable damage to the historic roadway. Please, do your part to help stop this problem, however you can. We are indeed working toward having the roadway open on a more regular, seasonal basis. We’d like to have a roadway left to have open.
The Ridge Route, as it was before, is CLOSED from Templin Highway to the Tumble Inn site on a regular basis. The Angeles National Forest, including the Ridge Route, is closed due to increased fire danger until September 17, 2021. This date may be extended, and if it does we will post that information on this site.
We are currently monitoring a fire that has started near I-5 and Templin Highway, known as the #RouteFire. It does appear to be growing at a rapid pace and is moving toward the Old Ridge Route. At this time, no major Ridge Route structures are in danger. Our planned event is many miles from this location and is also thus far not impacted.
Stay tuned to our Twitter account – @ridgeroute99 for updates.
Potholes near Granite Gate. Courtesy – Michael F Ballard
Our event on August 28 was a great success! Let’s keep that going. Our next event will be on Saturday, October 23, 2021, weather and conditions permitting as always. This event will concentrate on the northern end of the roadway between Granite Gate and the Liebre Maintenance Station site. This section of roadway has numerous potholes, rocks, and other debris covering the roadway which need to be cleared. We are negotiating with the USFS to get permission to use asphalt patch material for the potholes and potentially larger equipment such as a skip-loader to remove some of the debris. Lacking those, we can still make great progress on the roadway and reduce the damage to the historic roadway. Please bring shovels, picks, branch cutters / clippers, and any other tools to help clear dirt from the roadway and brush from the drains. We will need a truck or two to transport material to another site for disposal.
Circled area marks the area where we will be working.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP as soon as possible. Let us know what sort of equipment you will bring and if you are able to assist with transporting the materials to a disposal site further south on the roadway. Try to carpool, if possible, so that we can reduce the number of vehicles on the roadway.
We will meet at the parking lot of the Carl’s Jr in Gorman (49669 Gorman Post Rd, Gorman, CA 93243) near Exit 202 off I-5 at 8 am. We will depart by 8:30 am and head to the work site.
If you have any questions or concerns about the event, please let us know. We look forward to seeing you all there! Please use the form below to sign up for the event.
For Amateur Radio: We will be on 146.580 (Simplex) as well for communications.
If you haven’t already, please use the box below to subscribe to our website. You will receive any updates we post to our site directly to your e-mail.
