Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Fire Plan banner

National Fire Plan Success Story

Flintridge Prescribed Burn in 2002 Slowed Down the Lukens Fire in 2008
Los Angeles River Ranger District, Angeles National Forest, California
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction
2008

Smoke from the small brush fire in the Flintridge Project area. Forest Service engines in the foreground on the scene.
On July 18, 2008, a contractor’s vehicle caught fire and started a small brush fire in the Flintridge Project area.

In the San Gabriel Mountains about 10 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles lies the wildland-urban interface between the Angeles National Forest and the communities of LaCañada-Flintridge and LaCrescenta-Sunland. It was in this area that the Flintridge Project, consisting of both prescribed burning and mechanical fuels treatments, was implemented in 2002.

The purpose of this project was to reduce hazardous fuel loading along the main ridgeline separating the Big Tujunga watershed and communities of LaCañada-Flintridge and LaCrescenta-Sunland. Local Forest Service personnel worked closely with fuels specialists from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who were conducting a similar hazardous fuel reduction project on adjacent lands under their jurisdiction. In addition to the successful prescribed burn, approximately 300 feet of vegetation was removed from the center of the ridgeline downward. This was completed by mechanical crushing using bulldozers.

On July 18, 2008, a contractor associated with the Mt. Lukens Communication Site was traveling FS Road 2N76 to access his work site. The contractor’s vehicle caught fire and started a small brush fire in the Flintridge Project area. This fire held at the ignition point for approximately 30 minutes until the first U.S. Forest Service fire engine from the Angeles Crest Station arrived on scene. The fire was knocked down quickly and remained at less than ½ acre.

Under different conditions, a fire start in this area could easily spread several thousand acres. Properties that could potentially be destroyed in this area include multiple facilities at the Mt. Lukens Communication Site and hundreds of homes in the aforementioned communities, many of which exceed $1 million in value.

Multiple resources were involved in planning for the project. They include the district resource officer, fire/fuels staff, Arc/GIS staff, biologists, botanists, archaeologists, recreation and air, soil and watershed resources. Scoping for the project began in 2001 and included public notification of 154 different agencies, groups, and individuals.

The Flintridge Project is within congressional district 26 (Dreier).

The contact for the Flintridge Project and subsequent Lukens Fire is Scott Lowden, Fuels Technician on the Los Angeles River Ranger District. He can be reached at (818)-899-1900 or by email at slowden@fs.fed.us.