Category: Angeles National Forest

Report a Problem

With all the recent activity as well as other events such as January 26 when big rigs tried to travel the Ridge Route, we thought it was a good idea to have a place to report things. If you see something wrong on the Ridge Route, be it a developing washout, large vehicles traversing the roadway, or things out-of-the-ordinary, we have have set up a web page to help you report things on the road. We will pass the information along to the appropriate agencies as needed.

To Report Problems or other issues on the Ridge Route, please use the website below. The web page is also located under our “Current Roadway Conditions” page in the menu.

Reporting Problems on the Ridge Route

#EmigrantFire Update

As of 1615 on September 17, the fire is at 220 acres and 5% contained per USFS. Some good news to report however. The fire appears to be focused only on the ridge between West Fork Liebre Gulch and Liebre Gulch. This ridge heads NNE toward Bald Mountain near Sandberg. While not a large distance away from the Ridge Route (average about 1.25 miles), it is enough to keep the Ridge Route safe for now. Winds have so far carried the fire only along that ridge. Our Twitter account has been a great resource for information during events like these. The feed can also be seen on the right-hand side of our website, for desktop users.

Fires like this show that we need to continue to keep the Ridge Route in good condition. Working with the USFS and other agencies as we have, we can make sure the road is in good repair not only for its preservation, but to assist with fire suppression along the roadway. Activities such as our CUTRR events go a long ways toward that goal. In August, we removed a major rockslide which could have hampered crews. Next month we will remove or at least mitigate debris on the roadway which makes travel more difficult. We need your support in this effort. Last month, we had 15 enthusiastic volunteers. You can RSVP for our October 23 event and help us continue these efforts.

October CUTRR Event

Another Fire near the Ridge Route

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.

#RouteFire Update – 9/13/2021

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!

October CUTRR Event

Fire on the Ridge Route – Updated

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.