Red Car Canyon: Mudwatch for Lake View Ave

Photos: Red Car Property Neighbor, January 12, 2023.  

Around the 6” of rain earlier this week brought predictable mudslides and a downed tree just north of the mudslide on the Lake View Ave side of Red Car Canyon.  This slope is Red Car Property up to the fence line.  There are public utility  easements along the property line.

The Red Car Property owner chopped down all the young trees on this slope and throughout the property without regard to size or species. There were a number of young protected Coast Live Oak and California Black Walnut trees that managed to recover from the 2016 fire.  While this slope did not burn it was severely damaged by the heat.  

Most of the shrub-like plants in the above photo are remnants of trees that keep trying grow back every year after brush clearance.  I speculate the total disregard for hillside ecosystems is intentional, as it is common developer tactic to kill off as many trees as possible through neglect or removal in advance of development application.  

Over 30 years, we’ve seen the slope slide below and around the sewer outlet (the round concrete feature topped with green spray paint, adjacent the large tree at the fence line in photo).

In recent years, City contractors replaced sewer lines in the slope along the property line between the Red Car Property and homes above on Lake View.

In 2009 the Red Car Property owner repaired a  2005 landslide on the Adelbert end of the Red Car Property. 

It is a very steep slope cut for the Red Car Trolley in 1904.  Since the tracks were removed in 1955, a forest of trees repopulated the slope.  

Red Car Property: Leaky Pipe

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  If you live on northern end of Lake View above the Red Car Property, you might want to check your backyard for leaky water or sewer lines.  The swath of bright green grass flowing downslope, way above the historic viaduct footings, indicates a problem. 

Native tree note: the small trees in the foreground and to the left of the green grass are protected native California Black Walnut trees.  They are currently dropping their leaves for winter.

Red Car Property: Sewer Maintenance

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 16, 2017.  The City contracts out routine sewer maintenance on the Red Car Property.  They were scoping the 8" sewer lines with a camera.  Workers explained, the City contracts out maintenance in areas where access is difficult and requires gaining access on multiple private properties.  They also said the City deferred maintenance for decades in difficult areas.

For reference, this post was actually published December 2, 2017 and backdated to when the photo was shot and first appeared on Twitter.

Red Car Canyon: Lots Of Noise, Multiple Generators, Lots Of Vehicles Around Dead Trees

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 18, 2016.  Neighbors are still wondering is this is a part of the sewer replacement project going on in the area.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 18, 2016.  Multiple generators, large trucks and a backhoe are all parked right up against dead and dying trees in Red Car Canyon between Corralitas, Lake View Ave and Riverside Place.  We sent these photos Friday to CD13 and LAFD Brush Unit. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 18, 2016.  Neighbors on top of Corralitas Drive complained their windows were vibrating while the "Hammerhead" was in use.  It was parked on Riverside Place.  One neighbor even recorded the sound because it was so loud.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 18, 2016.  It looks like the front of the hose is a high pressure nozzle rather than dig by hand or backhoe to lay pipe.  

However, this is just speculation since we've not been able to confirm anything associated with this project.

Red Car Canyon: Sewer Contractor Working In Dry Brush Area

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 10, 2016.  Last week, neighbors from Corralitas, Lake View and Riverside Place wondered about the backhoe, generator, porta-potty and other trucks in Red Car Canyon.  This appears to be part of a large sewer project in the area. (Click on photos to enlarge.)  

It is of major concern to neighbors, since brush clearance was never done this year and the canyon is the most dry it's ever been in the 26 years I've lived here.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 10, 2016.  While taking photos, the neighbor spoke to a City inspector on site who said they were working on sewer lines between manhole covers up on the Corralitas side of the slope, along the fence line (hidden by the dense brush).

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 10, 2016.  Another neighbor confirmed what appears to be the same crew has been working in and around Riverside Place since September.  The same neighbor also said they seemed to be working in a patchwork fashion. He'd received a letter from the City a year ago.  Another Red Car Property neighbor overlooking the south end of the Red Car Property received a similar letter.  Although that section should be more challenging, since the sewer line is in the middle of the slope, running parallel with the power lines.  They worked on sewers from the city easements in backyards on Corralitas Drive and on the Lake View side of Red Car Canyon in 2015.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, November 10, 2016.  The proximity of the work to dry brush and dead and dying trees concerns neighbors most. No one has seen any brush clearance on this end of the property since July, and that now appears to have been done by utility company contractors and individual homeowners concerned about their own safety.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 9, 2016. There is a large build up of dry leaves and brush from the dry and dying canyon trees, including a large eucalyptus directly behind and above the area where the crew was working last week. However, the little Coast Live Oak Tree on the right side of the above photo is about 12 feet tall now. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 9, 2016.  It's always difficult to get a good representative photo of the canyon area because of the harsh contrast in lighting through the trees.  However the pine and eucalyptus trees above the generator have been drying out horribly this year.  Adjacent neighbors have bamboo in their yards, a highly combustible plant which leaves Red Car Canyon a disaster waiting happen.  

Water your trees.

 

Red Car Property: Really Random History - City Sewer Lines Made Of Brick

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 7, 2014.  I was shocked to see a 15' deep manhole on the Red Car Property lined in brick.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It seemed to lead to either a sewer or storm drain.  A City contractor working on area sewer lines may have left it open & uncovered for days.  CD13 was able to get the manhole cover replaced after I discovered it open with no safety tape, flags, cones nor barriers.   

I cannot imagine how old this must be. since, surely the City would not allow brick sewers' continued use due to brick & mortar's extreme susceptibility to liquefaction during earthquakes.  I was wrong.  Check out (Silver Lake resident & public staircase advocate) Alissa Walker's story on the City's aging sewer infrastructure & the workers who keep it flowing: Gizmodo