Damage saps fun from Angeles forest. Angeles National Forest's Chantry Flat Road remains closed after suffering damage from the 2020 Bobcat fire and subsequent fires. Storms and fires force closure of trails, roads and campgrounds, some for years. The forest's second-most visited area, Chantry Flat, in the section north of Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre, has been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. A sign in Arcadia (photo) advises motorists of the Chantry Flat Road closure.
The Adams' Pack Station, owned by Deb Burgess, in the Chantry Flat area, 3 miles up a road starting from the top of Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia, fights to remain open as it faces costly upgrades required by the Los Angeles County Health Department. Forest authorities want it to remain a historic landmark, which would limit the amount and types of renovations that can be done.
Santa Anita Canyon Road, aka Chantry Flat Road, has been jointly owned by Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, and Los Angeles County for years. The 3-mile mountain road that leads to the Angeles National Forest will be turned over to Los Angeles County if the cities pay to fix it up. Arcadia and Sierra Madre have completed their repairs and are waiting for Monrovia to start a roughly $500,000 project.
The road to Chantry Flat will close April 1 for repairs, with Arcadia and Los Angeles County working to fix two sections of the road. Closure will last until July 9.
Nearly all of region's national forest areas, including the Angeles, Los Padres, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests, reopened yesterday, one week after the expiration of the California regional closure. The forests also lowered their fire danger level from critical to extreme, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The closure order was issued August 31 in response to statewide wildfires. Although the majority of the Angeles National Forest will reopen, a significant part will remain closed due to the 2020 Bobcat fire. The closure order for Angeles National Forest has been in place since September 2020 and remains in effect until April, to allow for affected areas to recover from the 100,000-plus-acre Bobcat Fire. Still closed are Chantry Flat Picnic Area and Buckhorn Campground.
Kim Kelley, owner of the Adams pack station near Chantry Flat, has decided to sell the historic station for financial reasons. The heavily damaged roads to Big Santa Anita Canyon have hurt her business.
Seven months after Chantry Flat Road was closed at night, the noise that bothered residents and the injuries from auto accidents have virtually ceased.
Aerial view south from Chantry Flats Road over the still-developing upper Highlands section of Arcadia. View is across Arcadia toward the Puente Hills. Santa Anita Park Race Track is seen in the center. Santa Anita Wash is seen on extreme left.
Arcadia has new hiking shuttle. U.S. Forest Service starts bus service to Chantry Flat trails from Arcadia Gold Line station. The shuttle goes to Chantry Flat Road, an area that connects to trails that lead to Sturtevant Falls, Hermit Falls, and historic Mount Wilson. The shuttle will run the next three weekends. Plans to make it permanent have not been formulated. See also Pasadena Star News, September 21, 2016, p. A7.
Several cities including Arcadia, Monrovia and Sierra Madre and Los Angeles County are coordinating efforts to repair damage from heavy rains on Chantry Flat Road. Arcadia owns two stretches of the road. Arcadia and Monrovia are asking FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for funds.
This month's heavy rainstorms triggered as many as 18 mudslides. The first major slide deposited 6000 cubic yards of mud on a section of road in Arcadia. The road to Chantry Flat is closed until further notice.