Red Car Property: Not A Park, It Just Looks Like One. Native Black Walnut Tree Update

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, February 26, 2016.  We've been documenting the same California Black Walnut Tree since 2000. (Despite the encroached fence, the large tree on the right is on the Red Car Property.)

Four years of unprecedented drought has taken its toll on this once spectacular tree.  It's early in the season yet, but it is sprouting new growth close to the trunk and larger branches.  The protected native tree, like so many other trees, have been growing out of season due to the unheard of 3" of rain we had on one day in September. 

Due to the orientation of the hillside blocking afternoon sun on this part of the Red Car Property and Riverside Drive, California Black Walnuts tend drop their leaves late in December and sprout new growth later than the rest of the property.  It's hard to say what's normal this year.

Native trees are very well adapted to drought as they evolved with our Southern California drought or deluge cycles of rain. They also help hold our steep hillsides together when it does rain.

Related: 
Debs Park native plant nursery growing without El Nino rains: The Eastsider
City of Los Angeles: Protected Native Tree Ordinance  
City of Los Angeles: Dept of Urban Forestry 
California Drought Monitor Map
 

Red Car Canyon in 2008: Eucalyptus Go Down In Rainstorms, Even In Dry Years

A version of this post was first published February 16, 2009.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, February 2008. Red Car Canyon after the rain. (Click on photo to enlarge.) 

Despite a mostly dry year in 2008, enough rain fell in one February storm causing another eucalyptus tree to fall in Red Car Canyon. Eucalyptus trees have notoriously shallow root systems and do not help hold hillsides together. 

2016 Update: Are you ready for the next big rainstorm?  It's not too late.  If you have a dead or dying eucalyptus tree on your property, it might be time to have it removed.  Many large dead eucalyptus were removed from the Red Car Property over the past two years.  

If your eucalyptus is a healthy tree, it might need trimming.  Eucalyptus' shallow root systems can fail when the slopes are saturated. Thinning the dense branches may help save healthy trees.  It's best to consult a licensed arborist if you have concerns and want to save your trees.  Be alert for raptor nests.  Hawks are rebuilding their nests for mating season.

Click here for all our dead tree posts.

Lake Red Car In 2009: Need Sandbags? Know Where Stormwater Flows & Collects

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, February 17, 2009.  Lake Red Car is one of the vernal pools that reappears with almost every rain on the Red Car Property, between Lake View Ave and Riverside Place, just north of Rose Scharlin Nursery School.

It looks like we may be hit with another round of El Niño rain starting this weekend.  If you need sandbags, homeowners can get sandbags and sand at LA City Fire Stations.  Be sure to call before you go because not all stations have both sand and bags.  The City has an emergency alert and resource website: www.ElNinoLA.com.  You can find links to the LAFD station phone numbers there too.

If you are Red Car Property adjacent and missed the last big round of rain in 2011, you can search this blog for the routine problem areas on the Red Car Property by clicking on the following searches:

vernal pools
creek
mudwatch
(There is a lot of overlap in the searches because we never thought we'd still be doing a daily blog for the Red Car Property after 9 years.  Photos date back to 2005.)

Send us your rain related photos from the Red Car Property neighborhood: redcarproperty@gmail.com.  During this El Niño rainy season, we'll likely publish updates faster on Twitter than the blog.  Follow us on Twitter: @RedCarProperty

Red Car Property: Protected Native Black Walnut Tree Still Fighting Back

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, December 10, 2015.  For 15 years, we've documented this one California Black Walnut Tree on the Red Car Property. (Despite the encroaching fence, it is on the Red Car Property and not on an adjacent Riverside Drive lot.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 18, 2015.  At a time when it would have been dropping its leaves for winter, the Black Walnut near the Adelbert cut-through was pumping out new growth like crazy in November.  It had dropped its leaves early due to drought.

This formally beautiful tree was hit hard by the past 4 years of unprecedented drought.  For years it weathered our typical multi-year drought or deluge weather cycles.  Read more and compare the photos:
2000 - 2015
July 2015
November 2015 

Red Car Property: Mudwach Near Rose Scharlin

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, January 8, 2016.  Looks like someone has been driving through the mud on the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, January 8, 2016.  The trail was muddy in all the usual places.  Stop driving through the Red Car Property.  You're only making the muddy sections wider.  

The Red Car Property is not a park, nor is it a public street right of way.  It's private property on which the owner has allowed pedestrian access.  Some vehicles are parked further north on the property with permission by the the Red Car Property owner.

Follow us on Twitter for more timely mudwatch updates during this El Niño rainy season:  @RedCarProperty

Red Car Canyon Lake: Dawn, Mudwatch

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, January 8, 2016.  This week's 4" of rain brought the vernal pools  back to Red Car Canyon.  Walk carefully and STOP DRIVING THROUGH THE RED CAR PROPERTY!  You're not helping.  

If neighbors really want to help - there are plenty of pieces of scrap concrete, bricks, pavers, logs and large rocks around the canyon area - place them along the edges of the canyon floor to create a walking path.  (Think of it as a workout.)  It's going to be a long muddy rainy season.  Take a look at some canyon photos from the last big rain year, 2005.

We'll be posting more mudwatch photos later today.  During this El Niño rainy season, we'll likely post updates on Twitter, faster than the blog.  Follow us on Twitter @RedCarProperty

Email us your storm related photos from the Red Car Property Neighborhood: redcarproperty@gmail.com   

Corralitas Red Car Property: Mudwatch, Rainfall Totals

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, January 7, 2016.  Surprisingly, the trail on the Corralitas end of the Red Car Property was walkable this morning.  But the off-trail areas are mudtastic.  Step carefully.

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas rain gauge...

Tues January 5, 2016: 2.9"
Wed January 6, 2016: 0.9" *7 PM
Wed-Thurs, Jan 7, 2016: 0.5" *9 AM
Rain year to date: 5.12" **

That's 4.05" this week so far. If the typical El Niño weather pattern continues, expect Eucalyptus and pine trees to start going down on the Red Car Property in February.  Luckily, most of the large dead Eucalyptus on the Red Car Property were removed over the past two summers. Wish we could say the same for the dead Eucalyptus on adjacent properties.

**Normally, the "rain year" would have ended June 30.  However, this year California joined the rest of the country, and will report rainfall totals between October 1 to September 30.  Who expected to have significant rain between July 1 and October 1?  There will always be an asterisk next to the 2014-2015 rain year on Corralitas Drive, which ended with 15.17."  We got an unprecedented 4" between July 1 and September 30.

Red Car Property: Looking For That Pot Of Gold? Better Wear Mud Boots. Preliminary Rainfall Totals

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, January 6, 2016.  This afternoon, Vandiveer was heading out but had to stop and run up the Silver Lake Ave Public Staircase to the Red Car Property to shoot the full double rainbow, ending north of India Street on the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Don't drive on the Red Car Property - you're likely to get stuck in the mud.

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, January 6, 2016.  The other end of the rainbow appears to be in Debs Park.

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas rain gauge...

Tues, January 5, 2016: 2.9"
Wed, January 6, 2016: 0.6" as of 1PM.  At 5PM, the neighbor with the rain gauge reports, "Dogs & cats are falling from the sky...loudly.  Very loudly."

We also suspect the 1PM reading is not right, since she didn't want to go outside at the time to read the gauge.  We'll update the totals when possible.

Send us your rain related photos from the Red Car Property neighborhood: redcarproperty@gmail.com.  During this El Niño rainy season, we'll likely get updates on Twitter faster than the blog.  Follow us on Twitter @RedCarProperty

Red Car Creek: Flowing From The Red Car Property To Riverside Drive

Photos: Jonathan Vandiveer, January 5, 2016, all before 10:15 AM.  Red Car Creek flowed north from runoff of the hills above (Lake View and Silver Ridge) toward India Street.  "The heavy rain had stopped about 15 minutes before I took these pictures, just some light rain at the moment," Vandiveer wrote in an email.  "Not as dramatic as it could have been."

If you think there is not a lot of water in the next few photos, skip down to the last one -  Riverside Drive at Allesandro Elementary School.

From the Red Car Property, the stormwater flows from the Red Car Property onto India Street.

India Street is lucky to have sidewalks on both sides of the street, as it is much steeper than it photographs.  India Street is only a block long, east of the Red Car Property, where it ends at Riverside Terrace.  There are no storm drains on India or Riverside Terrace.

From Glen Eden the stormwater continues downhill taking a quick left from Riverside Terrace onto Glen Eden.  Glen Eden is a very steep street that is the only way to reach not only a large number of homes in the neighborhood, it is also the only way to drive into both parking lots at Allesandro Elementary School.

Every time it rains, water and mud collect at Riverside Drive and Glen Eden.  The storm drains are not well placed for moving the water off the street.  The mud usually doesn't get cleaned up quickly either, creating a dangerous situation when cars try to drive up hill even once the rain stops.  

If you see blocked stormdrains, call 311.  According to the mayor, in a press conference today, they will be answering 24/7 this week, for storm drain emergencies, if you listen to the prompts.  You can also try this link on the City's website.

It's going to be a long El Niño year.  Send us your rain related photos from the Red Car Property neighborhood: redcarproperty@gmail.com
 

Rosebud Ave: New Year, Same Old Problems

Photo: Esteban Gonzalez, January 2, 2016.  The first dumping of 2016 under the 2 Freeway on Rosebud Ave includes a black folding chair and light blue sectional couch.  Gonzalez immediately reported it using the City's MyLA311 app.  

It's often difficult to get dumping picked up there is no address, as in this case.  So be very descriptive in the location (under the 2 Freeway on Rosebud between Corralitas and Allesandro) and always include a photo so they can't say they didn't see it.  These steps have made a big difference for getting results in our neighborhood.

The City has been threatening not to pick up trash on rainy days because they're afraid of storm drains being blocked.  Last October, a storm drain in Boyle Heights was blocked by a mattress and other debris, flooding homes and streets. 

Of course, if you live on a hillside street with Red Flag Day No Parking, you already know there is often confusion over not only the City's notification, but with people actually paying attention to it.  (Their choice of wording may make sense to parking enforcement and LAFD, but it only confuses normal people.)

Maybe the City should just send out extra bulky item trucks to sweep through the areas  routinely prone dumping problems prior to rain events.  It's a safe bet every City Council's field office and every neighborhood council could provide a list of hot spots for dumping.  

The City has an official Emergency Management Dept. Sign up to receive updates on emergencies like flood, fire and other disasters on their website via NotifyLA.org.

If you see someone dumping, take a photo, and/or write down a license plate and report it to the police immediately 1-877-ASK-LAPD.  Even if you have to wait on hold for a long time, if you have a license plate and vehicle description it's important to report it.  Then report the dumping to MyLA311, as the police do not call it in for bulky item pick up.  Unless the City gets those reports via 311, they don't pick it up. 

The City will not pick up dumping from private property.  Apparently, neither does the Red Car Property owner despite our regular notifications.

Click here for all our dumping related posts.

Red Car Creek: Rainfall Totals, Stormwater Trivia

*Photo you missed this year...

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  Are you ready for El Niño rains?  Know where stormwater runs through your property, like this creek that flows down the Red Car Property to India Street from Lake View.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Little known fact: there's a old cistern, half on private Lake View Property, half on Silver Lake Court, an unbuilt City street right-of-way west of and adjacent to the Red Car Property.  

LAFD offers sandbags, and sand at specific fire stations. See the LAFD website for details.

Rainfall totals as collected in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge:

December 21 - 22, 2015: 0.25
Rain year to date: 1.07" 

*Stuff You Missed This Year is our annual wrap up of interesting photos and things we just didn't have a chance to run, because everything seems to always happen at the same time.
 

Red Car Property: California Black Walnut Fighting Back

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 18, 2015.  The once spectacular California Black Walnut Tree on the north end of the Red Car Property, sprang back to life in November.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

In July, we ran a series of photos of the same tree, from 2000 - 2015, chronicling the effects of the the past 4 years of exceptional drought on this one tree. 

Native trees have very deep root systems and have evolved with our extremes of drought and rain cycles.  After 3" of rain in one day in September, trees throughout the area perked up, sprouting leaves, even flowers, out of season.  If you look closely at the above photo, the fresh growth isn't just on the branches, there is a lot of new growth concentrated close to the trunk in the first 6' of the tree (from the ground up).  That's not a shrub, that's new growth on the tree.  Compare it with the photo below.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 2, 2015.  Prior to the 3" of rain, the tree had dropped most of its leaves, the branches were dying back, yet there were some signs of growth near the main trunk that came back after brush clearance.

California Black Walnuts are protected native trees in the City of Los Angeles.  You need a permit to remove them, even if they are dead:

City of Los Angeles: Protected Native Tree Ordinance  
City of Los Angeles: Dept of Urban Forestry 
California Drought Monitor Map

Red Car Property: Predictable Mudslides, Stormdrains & El Niño Preparedness

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 2005.  Whenever we have big rain years, the Red Car Property slopes at the Corralitas end, have mudslides where earth was removed to build the 2 Freeway (1960 - 1962).

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 21, 2010.  The Red Car Property goes up to the power lines.  The Red Car Property "meadow" is also a handy catch basin for  stormwater run-off.  Additionally,  stormdrains run down the side of the 2 Freeway, as well as through the Red Car Property, from the very steep hills going up to Lake View and Silver Ridge.  

Why we're not on anyone's radar for a stormwater management project must be because of the morass of City, County and CalTrans (State) stormdrains in the area not being together on one map.  (CalTrans is not exactly known for cooperating with other agencies or neighbors.)  We've talked about the Red Car Property's potential as a stormwater project to anyone who would listen for many years. 

A host of City departments are hosting an El Niño Town Hall TONIGHT:

City of LA El Niño Town Hall

Thursday, November 5, 2015 

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Glassell Senior Center 

3750 Verdugo Road 

Los Angeles, CA 90065

Regional El NiñoTown Hall, Thurs, Nov 5, 2015

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  India Street entrance to the Red Car Property is a perennial problem spot in even a normal rainy season, as nothing stops the mud from flowing onto India Street other than the vernal pools.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

From the Red Car Property,  water and mud flows down the deceptively steep India Street, takes a right at Riverside Terrace, left onto the steep street of Glen Eden, past the parking lot entrance to Allesandro Elementary School and out onto Riverside Drive. 

A host of City departments will host four Regional El Niño Town Halls to help residents prepare for the "Godzilla El Niño" by learning about their community's risks.  Thursday's meeting is the only meeting in out area.

City of LA El Niño Town Hall

Thursday, November 5, 2015 

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Glassell Senior Center 

3750 Verdugo Road 

Los Angeles, CA 90065 

Red Car Property: Not A Park...

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2014.  It just looks like one.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Last week's rain mostly drained right off the Red Car Property, since 3" was far too much in one morning.  The property was pretty much dry to walk, the following day.

Red Car Property: Vernal Pools, Mudwatch

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  With almost 3" of rain in this morning, most of the water ran off the hills and into the vernal pools of the Red Car Property, and then to the storm drains.  Despite all 3 Red Car Canyon Lakes filling up quickly, you could still walk easily around their shores.  This will not be the case once the rains come more frequently.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  Once north of the last lake, the wooded canyon area was quite walkable.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The midsection of the property had smaller puddles, except for the vernal pool draining into the  downslope neighbor's backyard.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The Lot C vernal pool is going to be very difficult to navigate this winter since berm constructed years ago to discourage people from joyriding on the north end of the property traps the stormwater draining from the slope above (Adelbert).

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The taller green weeds in the marsh in Lake Corralitas, at the south end of the Red Car Property, are beneficiaries of the inch of rain we had in one day in July.  

The slope above the Red Car Property meadow is extremely steep and drains directly onto the Red Car Property.  In big El Nino years,  most of the the meadow will be under ankle deep water. 

Red Car Property: Mudwatch, Almost 3" Of Rain This Morning!

*Correction 12-11-15, rainfall season to date total

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  After nearly 3" of rain fell this morning, the Red Car Property was surprisingly walkable.  The vernal pools of Lake Corralitas, fed by Red Car Canyon Creek, returned.  We'll post more mudwatch photos later today.  It's going to be a long rainy season.

We'll be tracking rainfall totals once again in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge.  

*Normally, the rain year would have ended June 30.  However, this year, California joined the rest of the country, and will report rainfall totals between October 1 to September 30.  Who expected to have significant rain between July 1 and October 1?  There will always be an asterisk next to the 2014-2015 rain year.

September 15, 2015: 2.9"
*Season to date: 15.07"