The Brief

I’m standing with Bob Spears in the echoey chambers of a metal shipping container just below the trailhead of the Mount Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre.

“We have all the materials that we use to rebuild the trail when things go bad,” Spears tells me.

Shovels line the metal walls, as do McLeods, a tool that’s like a cross between a rake and an ax. There are also 6-foot-long sharpened T-stakes, burlap, and other materials used as needed to fortify the sides of a trail to prevent further erosion.

Spears is 74, a retired L.A. Unified School District English teacher and former volunteer firefighter. Now, he’s the lead trail maintenance volunteer for the first 3.5 miles of the Mount Wilson Trail.

“One of our things is to try to keep the trail wide enough so two people can pass without one person feeling unsafe,” Spears said.

This part of the trail is particularly popular for hikers and hosts a trail race every May, which in the past has usually been what Spears and his three or four other consistent volunteers prepare the trail for.

A sign pointing to the trailhead of the Mount Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

But the deluge of rain last winter after three of the driest years in 100 years have added even more work — and Spears said they’re just trying to keep up, especially with the potential for another wet year ahead.

“We're seeing vast changes in the weather patterns and that's going to affect a lot of how we do things,” Spears said. “And in my particular case, it's a lot about how we maintain the trail.”

Bob Spears, lead trail maintenance volunteer for the first 3.5 miles of the Mount Wilson Trail, which starts in the city of Sierra Madre and is one of the most popular hikes in the area.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

A popular nearby hiking trail — Chantry Flats — is still being repaired after the 2020 Bobcat Fire tore through, followed by last winter’s storms. Spears says that trail’s closure has also meant the Mt. Wilson trail has been getting even more traffic, so it also needs more maintenance.

The storms closed this part of the trail for days at a time, washing out entire sections that volunteers such as Spears are still working to repair.

“The trail can't fix itself, so that's what our job is,” Spears said.

A plaque just below the trailhead of the Mount Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

How to maintain a trail

Spears and I took a hike together recently on a quickly heating up fall day. Our first stop was to install a new sign at the trailhead that reads: “STOP: HEAT DANGER. Bring water for you and your pet.”

Bob Spears prepares to install a sign warning of extreme heat at the Mt. Wilson Trail trailhead.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

“We see constantly people go up there with dogs and no water and the search and rescue guys have had to go up to help rescue large dogs that collapse and it's very sad,” Spears said.

As we hike, Spears points out the local names of spots along the trail: Smoker’s Tree, where people often smoke cigarettes and toss the butts on the ground, which “makes me nuts,” said Spears (also, that’s just a really bad idea for a fire-prone mountain range). Then there’s Earthquake Fault — a popular area for bears to traverse, Spears notes with a chuckle, sharing a story of watching one amble by just a few feet away. Then there’s Rescue Ridge, a ridge with enough flat space at the end so helicopters could land to make rescues “back in the day,” Spears said.

Bob Spears holds a new sign he installed at the Mt. Wilson Trail trailhead. People and their dogs too often have to be rescued because they didn't bring enough water.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

Between and around those spots are all the areas that Spears and his volunteers have fixed since last winter’s storms. Fixing the trail generally means “benching” it — cutting into the mountain to make an eroded trail wider, while shaping the trail so water runs off of it instead of into the center, eroding it further.

Then we arrive at a brand new wooden bridge.

“This area, of all the areas on the trail, suffered the most during the heavy rains,” Spears said.

It’s the first bridge that’s ever been installed on the trail in historic memory — a route that’s been used since at least 1864 — after a large section of the trail was completely washed out during last winter’s storms.

Bob Spears, lead trail maintenance volunteer for the first 3.5 miles of the Mount Wilson Trail in the city of Sierra Madre, stands by a new bridge he and volunteers installed across a section of the trail that was washed out during last winter's storms.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

But the bridge is only temporary. Spears said the longer-term goal is to terrace the area, so water can flow down without destroying the trail. “Dirt lasts longer than wood,” Spears explained.

But Spears doesn’t mind all the work. In fact, he loves it.

“You get to play with cool toys. You get to go out and do good work. You get to help your fellow citizens,” Spears said. “Everybody says thank you and not a lot of jobs come with that kind of perk. Volunteers come with a sense of commitment that is different from a job. They're doing it because they really want to do it. That's why I like working on the trail.”

A sign showing a new route built to avoid increasing erosion on the Mt. Wilson Trail, named in honor of former lead trail volunteer Charlie Bell, who has since retired at 91 years old.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

A metaphor for the climate crisis 

From the first trails made by local Indigenous people, to settlers cutting trails with burros to take lumber from the forest, to the present day when thousands of hikers find a bit of peace in nature away from the bustle of the city, our local trails have long shifted and been remade.

Trails straddle both permanence and impermanence, just like the San Gabriel Mountains, which are naturally some of the fastest growing — and fastest eroding — mountains in the country. But worsening wildfires and more extreme rainfall driven by human-caused climate change is only accelerating that process.

Back at the bottom of the Mt. Wilson Trail, Spears and I pause at First Water, a grove about a mile-and-a-half up the trail that’s shaded by trees along a flowing, natural creek that’s still gushing with water from last winter’s storms.

“I'm going to try to do whatever I can to stabilize this trail, but if we get the second flood from Noah, I’m not going to be able to sustain it,” Spears said. 

Bob Spears hikes up the Mount Wilson Trail.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

The Sisyphean effort of maintaining trails feels like a metaphor for dealing with the climate crisis as a whole.

“My concern is that the pace of change is going to exceed human's ability to keep up,” Spears said.

Spears said he’s pretty certain the climate crisis will mean some trails will ultimately be permanently lost, and the landscapes around others changed forever.

Bob Spears at First Water on the Mt. Wilson Trail.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

Bob Spears, lead trail maintenance volunteer for the Mt. Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

“I'm 74 years old and do I understand everything? No,” Spears said. “But the one thing that I do know is that everything is going to change. And in my experience, things are changing faster all the time.”

He’s certain about something else too, also earned through experience: That it only takes a small group of people to make a big difference.

“I'm not a unique individual in any sense,” Spears said, “so I'm sure there are people out there that would like to do something.”

In the meantime, Spears will continue doing his something...maintaining this particular trail so others can enjoy it — today, and as far into the future as possible.

Californians will decide on more than a dozen ballot initiatives this November, covering a wide range of proposals focused on housing, taxes, recall elections, voter identification and more.

One ballot measure would approve an $11.25 billion bond for affordable housing; another would create a new down payment assistance program for homebuyers. Proposition 40 would establish a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires in California, while two other propositions would limit new taxes and potentially nullify Prop. 40. Other ballot measures, if approved, would change the recall election process in California, require identification to vote and speed up the environmental review process for certain developments.

It’s a lot of information to wade through on your own.

That’s why LAist unveils its Voter Game Plan each election season, with guides to help you cast a ballot that aligns with your values and beliefs. (The one thing we don’t do? Tell you how to vote. That is up to you.) For the Nov. 3 general election, LAist is also hosting a series of ballot cram sessions focused on helping you make informed decisions.

The series kicked off on Wednesday with AirTalk Host Larry Mantle and a panel of experts focused on the long list of statewide propositions in a one-hour cram session.

Michael Alvarez, professor of political and computational social science at CalTech; Sara Sadhwani, associate professor of politics at Pomona College, and Lee E. Ohanian, a professor of economics at UCLA and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, provided an overview of each ballot measure. The trio described the pros, cons and stakes of every decision Californians face this November, including the confusing and conflicting trio of tax measures you’ll see on your ballot as Props. 40, 41 and 42.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to how much revenue this might generate. There’s a lot of uncertainty, in particular, if it’s going to generate revenue in sufficient time to help the Californians who are really in need of having healthcare,” said Alvarez on Prop. 40, which would create a one-time tax on billionaires to fund healthcare.

Lee and Sadhwani both noted that there's a question of whether the tax would drive billionaires out of the state. “If you think that super high wealthy people should be paying more in taxes, there’s better ways to do this,” said Lee.

As for Prop. 41, which would require audits of new tax programs, and Prop. 42, which would ban new taxes on personal property, the panel agreed the measures are confusing.

Both propositions would nullify Prop. 40 if they receive more votes in support than the billionaire tax measure. That’s the big thing to remember, said Sadhwani: “They’re really the poison pills of Prop. 40, the billionaire’s tax. So a yes on 41 or a yes on 42 is a no essentially for Prop. 40.”

“I’ll be honest, Prop. 41 as well as Prop. 42 kind of makes my eyes glaze over,” said Sadhwani. Alvarez added that the measures make his head spin. Experts — they’re just like us!

LAist’s upcoming voter cram sessions will focus on judicial elections and Orange County.

You can find LAist’s Voter Game Plan and dozens of guides to the Nov. 3 election here at LAist.com/Vote

Elevated sea levels are already rolling into Southern California waters, leading to coastal erosion and other damage. An El Niño-driven Kelvin wave is further exacerbating conditions along the coast. And Tropical Storm Rachel could bring rain across the region this weekend.

But all of this is probably just the beginning of a very wet Southern California rainy season.

Authorities have been sounding the alarm.

“ Residents need to hear this information, and they need to hear it repeatedly, enough times so that they too can act,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said during a recent presentation about El Niño preparations.

Heavy rain, flooding and debris flows can pose serious threats to homes and infrastructure. Officials and climate scientists say the best way to protect yourself and your property is to make preparations now, well before peak El Niño conditions arrive.

Here’s what you can do to prepare your home.

Preparing your property

One of the first steps to getting your home ready for El Niño is to understand how vulnerable it is to flooding when heavy rain or surging surf hits your neighborhood.

“It really is incumbent upon people to pause, evaluate where they live, where they travel and to really think about what would happen if those areas were flooded out,” said Kerjon Lee, spokesperson for the L.A. County Department of Public Works. “ Knowing your community, your neighborhood, where mud and debris flow might occur — is really critical.”

You can review your risks using California’s MyHazard tool, which allows you to input your address and cycle through potential risks.

Floodwaters and the landscape

Knowing if your property or neighborhood has flooded in the past can be helpful, and you can learn a lot from simply looking at the landscape in and around your home.

If your house is at the bottom of a hillside, for example, it’s probably more susceptible to debris flows, especially if the slope burned in a wildfire in the last several years. Burn scars are especially vulnerable to landslides and flooding because they lack the established vegetation that helps hold soil in place and absorbs water during heavy rain.

Other landmarks to look out for near your property are creeks, canals, drainage channels, debris basins and even low-lying roadways.

It’s also a good idea to understand how rainwater flows onto your property, where it collects and how it leaves. The goal should be for water to flow through your property safely and efficiently, without causing damage to neighbors.

That means clearing debris and overgrowth from gutters and drains now, before extreme weather hits.

Officials are also urging residents to report clogged or blocked storm drains to their local public works department.

If you live in L.A. County and are concerned about potential mud or debris flows, you can contact the county’s Department of Public Works for free advice.

Sandbags

If your property is at high risk of flooding, consider stockpiling sandbags. Many fire departments and public works departments offer sandbags to their local communities.

You can check sandbag distribution locations and availability here:

• L.A. County
• Orange County 
• Ventura County
• Santa Barbara County
• Riverside County
• San Bernardino County

Be prepared to fill the sandbags yourself, as most places only offer empty ones. Never fill sandbags with beach sand or empty used ones onto the beach.

Once you have sandbags, make sure you know how to use them properly.

Here are a few tips:

• Only fill sandbags half-full, not all the way full.
• Do not place sandbags directly against the outer wall of a building as wet bags can create added pressure on the foundation. 
• Sandbags should be placed parallel to the direction of water flow.
• The open ends of sandbags should be folded underneath and face upstream so they aren’t forced open as water flows around them.
• Sandbags should be used to redirect floodwater rather than create a dam or block its path. 
• Sandbags can be used to protect doorways, but to do so, they should have a waterproof layer like heavy plastic or waterproof canvas placed behind them. 

This diagram shows the proper way to place sandbags so that they are parallel to the flow of water or debris and redirect it away from structures.

(

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

)

Local agencies offer thorough instructions on how to use sandbags online. L.A. County Public Works offers a breakdown in its Homeowners Guide.

Sandbags and other materials for protecting your home, including plywood, lumber or plastic sheeting, should be stored in a dry location away from potential flooding.

Other flood considerations

If valuables could be damaged or destroyed by floodwaters, consider moving them away from the ground or, if possible, to upper floors. Keep important documents in waterproof containers or sealed bags, and make sure to create digital copies.

Another recommendation is to check trees on your property for dead branches, cracks or other issues that might make them unstable, especially those that hang over structures. If you’re unsure or concerned about your trees, you can hire an arborist to inspect them. To trim or remove them, you will likely have to hire a professional. Cities and counties generally do not handle tree maintenance on private property.

Finally, consider purchasing flood insurance if your home is at risk — and do so as early as possible.

Standard homeowners insurance policies typically do not cover flood damage, and new flood insurance plans can take at least 30 days to kick in. If you want to consider signing up for a plan, the National Flood Insurance Program is a good place to start.

If floodwaters do enter your home, public health officials recommend drying wet areas as quickly as possible, as saturation can lead to mold. If mold does take hold, clean the area using a disinfectant. Also, wear gloves and a mask to protect your skin and lungs and throw away moldy items that can’t be cleaned.

Jordan Corral had to do something.

It was late 2024, during a historically dry start to the winter. But the winter before that had been historically wet. This kind of “weather whiplash” is growing more common with a warming climate, research is finding. And it meant the hillsides of the Santa Monica Mountains were overgrown with invasive and highly flammable plants, such as black mustard, castor bean and fennel.

So Corral got to work. Alongside mentor Bill Neill, the president of the Santa Monica Mountains chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Corral pulled together a group of volunteers to pull out invasive plants.

Then came the Palisades Fire. Corral and his wife, Sara Marti, lost their apartment and had to start over. They’ve finally relocated to an apartment that survived the fire. Meanwhile, through their work for the nonprofit Resilient Palisades, Corral has launched a subgroup focused on invasive plant removal.

“The team is working on wildfire recovery while trying to mitigate the next wildfire simultaneously,” Marti said by phone on a day when Corral was out working with volunteers in Temescal Canyon Gateway Park.

Now, Marti said, their effort to heal the land has become a part of their own recovery journey.

“Being a part of the recovery has played an enormous part of personal healing,” she said. “It's meditative while you know that you're also making a huge difference, protecting the nearby neighborhoods.”

A half dozen or so volunteers, including Corral and Marti, have been regularly going to the park to remove invasive species, which choke out native plants and grow into dense, dry vegetation that can make fires more intense. They’ve also worked with local high schools and youth groups.

Now, they’re racing to get as many invasive species removed as possible, while at the same time planting as many native seeds as they can, ahead of a potentially very wet winter driven by El Niño. If the rain is as intense as forecasters are predicting, it could help invasive species flourish further.

Sara G. Marti, left, and Jordan Corral lost their apartment in the Palisades Fire and are leaders in the nonprofit group Resilient Palisades.

(

Courtesy Sara G. Marti

)

The effort has been boosted by a recent $24,000 grant from UCLA’s Philanthropy as Civic Engagement Course. The money will help hire expert field assistants and buy safety gear, among other things. Corral and Marti hope the effort can become sustained.

“It's not a one-and-done thing,” Marti said. “Invasive plants are going to continue coming back. … So we're really just trying to stay ahead of it as much as we can.”

In some ways, Marti said, the effort reflects their own journey to recover after losing their apartment in the fire.

“ We're probably never going to win, but we can't give up,” she said. “We have to keep trying.”

The city of Los Angeles will establish a fund to clean the 6th Street Bridge, where trash and other waste often pile up on pedestrian walkways. 

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the City Council approved the establishment of the fund, which will allow the city to accept and retain donations from private entities “to preserve this iconic landmark,” Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said. “Our commitment to this bridge has to ensure its longevity.”

Funds will go toward trash and bulky item pickup, graffiti abatement and other beautification services for the bridge. 

The dedicated fund follows the city’s hiring of Pasadena-based engineering firm Tetra Tech to restore the lighting of the bridge, which has been plagued by copper wire theft since its opening in 2022. 

The outages have frustrated residents and commuters who use the bridge to walk, run, bike and drive between downtown L.A. and the Eastside. 

This move also comes as residents in Boyle Heights and the Arts District grapple with how the 12-acre park beneath the bridge will be maintained once it opens in 2027. 

Community members have raised concerns about the possibility of homeless encampments forming at the park, as well as graffiti and whether copper wire theft from the bridge could affect the park’s safety.

Meanwhile, groups like the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council, Arts District Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights 5K Run/Walk are filling gaps with an upcoming bridge cleanup in collaboration with Jurado’s office. 

The post City of LA will establish a fund to clean the 6th Street Bridge appeared first on LA Local.