2 Freeway: Car Crashes Onto Red Car Property From The 2 Freeway

All photos: Red Car Property neighbors, April 27, 2019.

Around 2:30 AM, Red Car Property neighbors were awakened by a horrible sounding crash on the 2 Freeway. A very expensive sports car crashed through the chain link fence and came to a stop at the base of a steep slope on the Red Car Property.  At least one neighbor called police when it appeared people took off after the neighbor shined a bright flashlight on them.

One Silver Ridge neighbor described the sound of the crash: a car's screeching tires on the southbound 2 Freeway, then a large crash followed by more squealing tires and an even larger traveling crash.  A Corralitas neighbor's doorbell camera recorded the same sequence of sound at 2:31 AM.

The photo above is a lighter version of the previous photo, shot around 3 AM. 

With no large trees that used to prevent drivers from crashing onto Corralitas and the Red Car Property, the driver crashed through the brush on the side of the 2 Freeway, down the slope, through the chain link fence, across the public sidewalk (Corralitas Walk) and onto the Red Car Property, stopping at the base of the steep slope at the south end of the Red Car Property.  

Neighbors were on alert for fire since brush clearance had not been done.  This is the same part of the property that burned in the 2016 Silver Lake Fire.

When the sun came up, the path of the crash was more clear.  The orange cones mark the section of chain link fence taken out by the car crashing through and across Corralitas Walk.  It stopped at the far right of the frame.  The tire tracks completing the circle to the left, show the path the tow truck took to reach the car.

The large gap in the trees along the southbound 2, just past the orange cones, is where CalTrans cut down all the trees, including a number of enormous Eucalyptus trees that previously kept cars from flying onto Corralitas Drive and the Red Car Property.  

CalTrans cut down all the trees, including recovering trees that were not dead, after the 2016 Silver Lake Fire.  As soon as CalTrans cut the trees down, neighbors began asking CalTrans for trees, a sound wall or even concrete K-rails because they were suddenly feeling exposed.  A few months after the trees were removed a car flew off the freeway and crashed horribly onto Corralitas Drive.  It was fortunate no pedestrians were injured in either crash.

By 4 AM the tow truck was loading the car now in the Corralitas cul-de-sac, adjacent to the Red Car Property.  A neighbor confirmed the crashed car was a brand new Lamborghini.  It still had dealer paper plates.  From the photos, it appears CHP was present.

After last week's crash, we asked CD13 to prioritize brush clearance on the Red Car Property and request CalTrans do their brush clearance too. A fire could have sparked with the hot engine resting on the dry grass. 

Related: 
Car flies off 2 Freeway onto Corralitas Drive, 2016

All our car crash posts

Several neighbors from Silver Ridge Ave (directly above the Red Car Property) and Corralitas Drive contributed photos, video/audio recording, in addition to what they saw and heard to help create this post. 

This post was published May 7, 2019 and postdated to the incident date for reference.

Red Car Property: Not A Park

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November15, 2017.  Sometimes, you just have to wonder how desperate we are for open space near our homes, that we're willing to put up with the construction fence that took more than half the width of the Red Car Property near Adelbert.  The fence went up over a year ago for a development on Riverside Drive that is not a part of the Red Car Property.

Red Car Property: Count The Rings

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 1, 2017.  It was a really big pine tree.

Lake View Ave: Dead Pine Tree Removed

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  The huge pine tree in a Lake View Ave backyard never recovered after the June 19, 2016 Silver Lake Fire.  The Red Car Property line runs along the power lines.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 30, 2017.  Thursday, the sounds of chainsaws caught the attention of neighbors as the tree was finally being cut down.  Neighbors had complained to LAFD Brush Unit as well as CD13 since before the May 1 deadline for brush clearance as nothing on the Lake View Ave lot, including the castor bean forest, was cleared this year.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 1, 2017.  By Friday they were chopping up what was left of the huge pine tree.

Video: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 1, 2017.  A better sense of scale is gained with the number of huge trunk slices laid out on  the Red Car Property.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 17, 201.  In case there was any doubt the big pine tree was dead, here's another angle.  

Worth noting: the native Coast Live Oak and California Black Walnut Trees were recovering on the Red Car Property, downslope from the power lines.  In fact, many of the protected native trees were cut down by LAFD brush contractors and overcautious homeowners in the past year and a half.  However, even the the native trees cut all the way to a stump are, for the most part recovering.  Black Walnuts are currently dropping their leaves for winter.

Red Car Property: Toilets, Bumper, Aquarium

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  Neighbor reports the toilets, bumper and aquarium arrived on Lot C of the Red Car Property at India Street, as soon as the previous pile of dumping was picked up earlier this month.  They are still there now.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  Perhaps the dumping would be curtailed,  if the Red Car Property was closed to all motorized vehicles, except emergency vehicles, with steel gates similar to those on every fire road in Griffith and Elysian Park.

Red Car Property: More Dead Eucalyptus Near Adelbert

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  There aren't too many Eucalyptus left on the north end of the Red Car Property near Adelbert.  More keep dying.  This is a fire hazard.  Adelbert is a very narrow substandard Hillside street with only one access point for vehicles, hairpin turns and no place to turn cars around without using driveways.

We're not sorry to see Eucalyptus go, since they are non-native and do not hold hillsides together in the rain.  However, we mourn the loss of shade and radical change in the ecosystem on the north end of the Red Car Property.  It's a lot hotter and drier now.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 17, 2017.  Despite their death, the Eucs are a host for shelf fungi.  Here, seen with what appears to be a dried up Chicken of the Woods.  

Editor's note: This post was published December 18, 2017, and backdated to the the week the photos were shot since they show hazardous conditions on the Red Car Property, in the Very High Fire Severity Zone (VHFHSZ).  The first photo also may indicate evidence of erosion along the middle of the slope.

Red Car Property Neighborhood: Signs Of The Times

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 15, 2017.  Last week, LA City Fire Department began posting "No Smoking, No Discarding of Burning Objects" signs in the Hillside Area surrounding the Red Car Property and Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract (above photo at Allesandro and Rosebud - the sole vehicle entrance to the steep Semi Tropic hillside).

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 15, 2017.  The municipal code sections are referenced on the signs, here seen at the site of the 2016 Silver Lake Fire at the end of Corralitas Drive.  The LAFD has the authority to place these signs in Hillside Areas. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 15, 2017.  While brush may be cleared in many of the areas now, brush is often often dry for months before it is cleared.   Neighbors who've seen the same signs all over the Hollywood Hills for decades, noted their more recent proliferation in Beachwood Canyon and requested the signs for our neighborhood.  Several neighbors provided a list of suggested locations to the LAFD fire marshal overseeing the placement of the signs.

Photo: Jay Lieske, September 23, 2017.  Indeed, the fire marshal compared parts of our  neighborhood to neighborhoods in the Hollywood Hills.  We have many isolated areas like this one on Adelbert, right up against brush areas on narrow winding Hillside streets with no through traffic, in addition to public staircases and paper streets that are hidden and open to the Red Car Property.

Neighbors welcomed the signs as a reminder we live in a tinder dry hillside neighborhood.  Neighbors hope the signs get the attention of smokers who carelessly discard their cigarettes in dry brush areas.  At least one neighbor documented discarded cigarettes in parts of the neighborhood in the request for signs.  Neighbors noted areas where partying, homeless camps and squatter houses have attracted problems.  

I've asked for these signs for 25 years.  I'm grateful to the Red Car Property Neighbor who was able to devote time and energy into spearheading this project to making it a reality. 

Red Car Canyon: Shredding Trees, Spreading Dust, But What About Insects & Pathogens?

Red Car Canyon: hope you closed your windows before you went to work today- they're heading toward Riverside Pl now pic.twitter.com/B7Hq5mjsKZ

— Corralitas (@RedCarProperty) September 14, 2017

Video: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 14, 2017.  While it's technically OK per LAFD to spread the tree shred/mulch around to help retain moisture on the slopes, it's not exactly the best thing for air quality during the chipping or shredding.  There's also the question of spreading pathogens of the dead trees.

After consulting a neighbor who is a landscape designer, and reading up on some of the local insects and pathogens, I can wholeheartedly say, if you have a sick, dead or dying tree, consult a certified arborist.  This issue is way beyond my skill set to simplify beyond the following advice.  There are too many ways to infest/infect other trees depending on the insect and or pathogen, and you may be able to save your trees.  Your mature trees are an investment in not only your home's resale value, but also the future of our neighborhood and local air quality.

We've lost a lot of large trees in the neighborhood in the past few years.  Take care of your large and native trees.  Every tree counts.

Red Car Canyon: More Trees Coming Down

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #1, September 14, 2017.  This morning, photos and videos came in from vigilant neighbors of more tree carnage in Red Car Canyon.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Neighbors report they seemed to be removing dead branches and trees.  Yet, photos appear to indicate smaller trees recovering from the 2016 fire appear cut down in recent weeks.  We'll run a comparison post soon.  (These things take time and are depressing as all hell to look at what we lost.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 14, 2017.  Enlarged from previous photo, you get a better idea of scale when you see the worker up on the tree trunk.

Red Car Canyon: TIMBER!!!! Eucalyptus on Lake View side pic.twitter.com/YDVui3KOhO

— Corralitas (@RedCarProperty) September 14, 2017

Video: Red Car Neighbor Property Neighbor #2, September 14, 2017.  Another neighbor captured the moment they felled the same Eucalyptus.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #2, September 14, 2017.  Photo confirmed the same contractor who's been doing brush clearance for the past few weeks, was chopping up trees in the canyon today.  

Looks like our heat island is expanding.
 

Red Car Property: Brush Clearance Resumed Today

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor,  August 30, 2017.  Workers took a break from the insane heat and brush clearance on the slope below Lake View Ave, in the shade of a protected Native Black Walnut Tree.  It's hard to tell in this photo, but it looks like some more of the recovering Black Walnuts were chopped yet again.  

The Red Car Property line goes, roughly, along the power lines. 

Note: We're playing catch up for the month of August. This was post was actually published 8-31-17 and backdated to the date the photo was shot and originally published on Twitter.  It's our goal to catch up this weekend. 

Corralitas Red Car Property: When The Weeds Are Taller Than The Workers...

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 28, 2017.  When the weeds are taller than the workers doing the weed whacking, you understand why neighbors have been bitching about the brush clearance.  Hope they know the slope on the 2 Freeway side of that hill going down to the sidewalk is part of the Red Car Property too.  This slope is where the 2016 Silver Lake Fire started.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, June 28, 2017.  Yup, that's a second worker among the brush.  Enlarged from first photo.

Hear the sounds of weed whacking in short video: @Red Car Property

Red Car Property: Abandoned Squatters' Camp Used Again Last Night

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 13, 2017. Neighbors are fed up by the Red Car Property owner's failure to pick up the debris left behind after the squatters vacated their camp.  These photos and email (excerpted here) are from one of many concerned neighbors contacted CD13 and LAPD.  "Someone slept again last night on the old Red Car squatters encampment - I know because they left a new red blanket and new trash (see pics)."

The camp was established by a couple of squatters, mid-June.  Neighbors reported it immediately and constantly for the past few months to CD13 and LAPD.  A few weeks ago, neighbors reported the camp abandoned by the couple of squatters who had been driving a white car to and from their camp near Rose Scharlin Nursery School on a daily basis. 

Neighbors raised the concern that so much debris left behind will only attract new inhabitants.  "Does the owner really want to leave an open invitation for squatters to come live, sleep, and trash his property?"

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 13, 2017.  Pictured here: dry brush right next to the campsite.  Neighbors continue raising the alarm over brush clearance.  Out of self-interest, a few neighbors cleared some of the slopes near their own homes.  "I see the [brush] clearance is still not completed, or even started (Rose Scharlin did their own hill themselves rather than wait)."  

Considering the number of cigarette butts discarded in and around the camp, neighbors are justified in their alarm.  "This is a danger to the whole neighborhood, especially with smoking squatters sleeping there."  The neighbor continues, "Does our whole neighborhood have to go up in flames before someone enforces the Brush Clearance ordinance!?!  Has LAFD even inspected this negligent property that is putting our neighborhood at risk for a catastrophic fire?"  Yes, LAFD has cited the owner several times this year.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 13, 2017.  Adding insult to injury, last night's homeless left new bags of trash.

Click here for all our squatter related posts. 

Follow us on Twitter for more timely updates on the squatter camp and brush clearance.

Note: We're playing catch up for the month of August. This was post was actually published 8-26-17 and backdated to the date the photos were shot and originally published on Twitter.

Corralitas RedCar Property: Why We Bitch About Brush Clearance

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 12, 2017.  A number of neighbors were very concerned about a newer red pick up truck suspiciously parked in the middle of the dry grass on the Red Car Property for hours, earlier tonight.  Brush has yet to be cleared from the Red Car Property.  There is nothing preventing vehicles from driving onto the Red Car Property. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 12, 2017.  Several neighbors called LAPD's non-emergency 1-877-ASK-LAPD.  At least one stayed on hold for an hour before giving up.  However, it only made neighbors more creative.  They shined lights on the truck, annoying the people inside, and the truck finally took off.

Note: We're playing catch up for the month of August. This was post was actually published 8-26-17 and backdated to the date the photo was shot and originally published on Twitter.

Corralitas Red Car Property: LAFD Instructs Property Owner, Do The Brush Clearance

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 11, 2017.  LAFD Brush Inspector Perez, CD13's Hector Vega met the Red Car Property Owner and his son, at the Corralitas end of the Red Car Property.  In no uncertain terms Inspector Perez instructed to do the brush clearance and remove fire hazards like dumping and abandoned homeless debris.  According to CD13's Vega, the owner said it would be done next week.

Worth noting in this photo: the green slope directly above the cul-de-sac, is the southbound 2 Freeway.  November 30, 2016, a car flew off the freeway and crashed onto Corralitas Drive.  CalTrans merely replaced the damaged guardrail, rather than extend the guardrail further south.  After the 2016 fire, CalTrans removed all the trees that prevented cars from landing on the street or on the Red Car Property.  

CalTrans has not seen the need for even temporary K-rails to prevent cars from flying off the freeway.  The guard rail is there to protect the overhead sign across the southbound lanes, not to protect neighbors. A chain link fence is at the bottom of the hill.

Note: We're playing catch up for the month of August. This was post was actually published 8-24-17 and backdated to the date the photo was shot and originally published on Twitter. 

Red Car Property: Abandoned Squatters' Camp In Use Again

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 11, 2017.  More than one neighbor reported someone slept in the recently vacated squatters' camp last night.  A CD13 representative and LAFD Brush Inspector told the property owner to remove the abandoned debris.  LAFD Senior Lead Officer Lenny Davis told the owner he would arrange for an officer to be on site when the owner removes the debris in case of any misunderstandings with squatters. 

Note: We're playing catch up for the month of August. This was post was actually published 8-24-17 and backdated to the date the photo was shot and originally published on Twitter.

Corralitas Red Car Property: Why Are LAFD Brush Clearance Fines The Same, No Matter The Size Of Your Lot?

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 4, 2017.  Neighbors are understandably nervous about fire on the Red Car Property. Weeds are taller and more dense than before the 2016 Silver Lake Fire.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 4, 2017.  Most  of the protected native Coast Live Oaks and California Black Walnuts are returning to the slopes.  Looks like there are still a few upslope neighbors on Lake View who still have not done their brush clearance.  You'd think after last summer's fire, they'd be the first to do brush clearance.  But then no one can believe the Red Car Property owner hasn't done the brush clearance yet.  

Perhaps part of the problem is the fines for failing to do brush clearance are the same - no matter what size lot you have - 5000 sq feet or 5 acres.  The fine from LAFD is per lot, not per square foot. You still have to pay for brush clearance, but you'd have to pay for brush clearance, whether or not you did it on time.  

Raise the potential fines for non-compliance on the large lot owners to encourage prompt brush clearance.  Track the non-compliant lot owners every year.  Each year the lot is fined for non-compliance, increase their penalties.   Prioritize the routine scofflaws.  

There is no incentive for large lot owners to take responsibility for their own property.  LAFD has the potential to bring in more fees from fining up to 135 adjacent lots, than from the 5 (or 6 according to APNs) lots of the Red Car Property.  There's not a lot of impetus for LAFD to red tag the Red Car Property owner, other than a fire starting  on or spreading via the Red Car Property, would endanger the whole neighborhood.   In 2016, 200 firefighters, wildland fire crews and a massive air assault (water dropping helicopters from at least 3 agencies) kept the 2016 Silver Lake Fire from becoming a major disaster. 

A neighbor ran into the LAFD Brush Inspector on site July 28, 2017.  The inspector said another notice to comply would be mailed to the owner. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 4, 2017.  The Red Car Property goes up to the telephone poles running across the middle of the slope.  In some cases the adjacent property owners cleared well beyond their property line.  

Unfortunately, last December, LAFD Brush Clearance contractors also took out a lot of native Black Walnuts when they did clearance.  Some very native large trees on this slope were cut down to the ground, even though they were recovering.  Most of the walnuts are recovering are coming back despite the butchery (the green shrub like plants midway up the slope on the left.)  There was no need to cut them down as they were already recovering from the fire.  Native trees are fire resistant.

Related: 
LAFD Brush Inspection Process 
All our brush clearance posts

Corralitas Drive: New Homeless Camper Next To Dry Brush Of Red Car Property

*Update, August 4, 2017 at end of post

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 1, 2017.  Tuesday morning, neighbors discovered a new camper/trailer parked next to the Red Car Property on Corralitas Drive.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Video: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 1, 2017.  First posted on Twitter, also available on YouTube.  Not only is the camper parked next to the dry brush of the Red Car Property, the sidewalk is blocked, there's a propane tank in front and what appears to be a bag of charcoal briquettes at the the back of the camper (see video below).  The white Saturn parked behind the camper, is associated with the squatters who recently abandoned their camp on the Red Car Property near Rose Scharlin. 

The protected native California Black Walnut Tree has recovered well from last year's Silver Lake Fire. 

Neighbors want to know why the Red Car Property owner always seems to get away with not doing brush clearance by May 1, every year.

Send your concerns about brush clearance, vehicle access and any other concerns regarding the Red Car Property to hector.vega@lacity.org in City Council District 13.  Include your name, street address and phone number.


*UPDATE: August 4, 2017, LAPD Senior Lead Officer Lenny Davis spoke to the woman living in the trailer yesterday.  The trailer was gone today.

Red Car Canyon: Neighbors Call Police On Suspicious Jaguar Convertible

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #1, August 1, 2017.  Neighbors called police upon finding an abandoned green Jaguar convertible.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Longtime neighbors recognize the signs of a suspected stolen car: serious front end damage, punched trunk lock (see last  photo), flat tire, car abandoned in a totally inappropriate place for cars to drive on the property.  However, according to LAPD Senior Lead Officer Lenny Davis, as of 8:30 AM the car was not reported stolen.  

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #2, August 1, 2017.  Apparently the car was stuck on one of the many cut up logs surrounding the Charles Lacey Memorial.  On more than one occasion, Red Car Property neighbors reported an  abandoned car prior to the car owner learning his car was stolen.  Neighbors saw the driver of the Jaguar attempting to extricate the car from its sticky predicament around 6:30 PM last night.

In 2016, the Silver Lake Fire burned right up to homes in this canyon before a massive effort by LAFD and partner agencies stopped it. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, #3, August 1, 2017.  Neighbors are particularly nervous about vehicles driving on the Red Car Property since the dry brush has not yet been cleared from the property.  A hot engine parked on dry grass or a rock hitting metal under a car driving on the property can spark a fire. 

We have long advocated for installation of heavy steel gates (similar to gates at the entrance to every fire road in Griffith and Elysian Parks) blocking all vehicle access except for emergency vehicles.  LAFD has requirements for "security gates" posted on their website.

Link to video of Jaguar showing the extent of the dry brush in this location.

Click here for all our suspected stolen cars posts.

Corralitas Red Car Property: LAFD Brush Inspector

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 28, 2017.  Neighbors are wondering how long it will take to get brush clearance done.  The LAFD brush inspector told a neighbor on Corralitas Drive, the Red Car Property owner will be noticed once again for failure to clear brush.  

All neighbors who were here for the 2016 fire cannot understand why any property owner wouldn't do their brush clearance by May 1.

Note: We're playing catch up. This was post was actually published 8-23-17 and backdated to the date the photo was shot and published on Twitter.

Red Car Property North: Still Needs Brush Clearance

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017. The grass is dry and mostly mashed down but not cleared between the construction fence and Fletcher on the Red Car Property.  Protected native Black Walnuts are repopulating the slope.  A number of trees died after five years of drought.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  The Red Car Property is between Riverside Drive and Fletcher and Adelbert Ave.  Adelbert is a substandard Hillside Street with a number of hairpin turns to reach Lake View Ave.  It has only one means of access.  We don't know why Adelbert is not a Red Flag No Parking street.

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  A year ago, the construction site on Riverside Drive, directly below the Red Car Property, took a lot of the Red Car Property with their construction fence, in addition to clear cutting trees on the Red Car Property.  This is the pedestrian path they left us.  Last year, their agreement with the property owner was to do the brush clearance on both sides of their fence.

Photo: Jay Lieske, July 13, 2017.  The construction site appears to have done brush clearance on the portion of the Red Car Property behind their fence.  It also looks like a few native trees are returning and recovering to the flat portion of the Red Car Property above the construction site.

Neighbors have expressed concerns that the native saplings and recovering native trees should be preserved as the brush clearance contractors are not known for their care with young trees.  

As with other parts of the Red Car Property, neighbors want to know why the property owner is allowed to get away with not doing brush clearance by May 1, every year?

Click here for all our brush clearance posts.