Nostalgia & History > Pino Grande did NOT burn

The site of the Michigan-California Lumber Co mill at Pino Grande CA did NOT burn in the recent King Fire. The fire somehow worked its into the area that had been the employee housing, but only at ground level- nothing over about knee high. (This area has very little in the way of foundations etc. anyway.) The rest of the site is untouched.

A perimeter of the King Fire is still off limits to the public, and will likely remain so until next year. Pino Grande is apx three miles inside this perimeter. After two days of phone calls to both the El Dorado Natl Forest HQ and Sierra Pacific Industries (owner of the site itself) I got an okay to hike in. I'd like to thank both for their understanding and assistance. (well, maybe not "understanding" exactly- but they went along with it) Anyway- huge fine if you're found in there!

I took a few photos:

Photo 1. This is the map at the Ranger Station where I checked in. The burned area is marked in red. The yellow line is the perimeter of the closed area.

Photo 2. I copied this photo from R.S.Polkinghorn's Pino Grande book to use as a key to the photos I took.

Photo 3. (1 in the key photo) RR ties. I think this was the track to the Transfer Pit.

Photos 4&5. (2&3 in the key) The foundation of a small building that extended out to the creek's edge from the corner of the Dry Kiln.

Photos 6&7. (4&5 in the key) The Dry Kiln building. These door frames can be seen in the overview photo.

Photo 8. (6 in the key) Footings of the Main Mill itself.

SR Bush
Dutch Flat



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/14 00:05 by BoilingMan.

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Great news. Thanks for taking the time to hike in and check this out and then share the results.

Martin

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Glad you caught this Martin, it was your original posting that got me thinking about this.

Actually, I'm kind of undecided about whether a burn would be good or bad news in Pino.
Places like this are so overgrown with trees and brush it's difficult to get a sense of scale and overall layout today- like Mayan ruins in the jungle.
There really isn't much in the way of wood here to loose, but then again who knows if those concrete door frames would survive still standing. Hard to say.
What would be ideal would be a couple dozen foamers with chainsaws! (now THERE'S a disturbing image.. )
SR

It is kinda interesting to see the remains of a lumber mill so overgrown in giant trees that it is invisible from six feet away. Perhaps all of those very vocal activists were incorrect, and trees DO grow back with time.

lwilton Wrote:
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> It is kinda interesting to see the remains of a
> lumber mill so overgrown in giant trees that it is
> invisible from six feet away. Perhaps all of those
> very vocal activists were incorrect, and trees DO
> grow back with time.


But they're not "old growth". Tree huggers only care about old growth trees.

Really? You're going to hi-jack this with a bunch political rants?
It seemed such a safe subject
sigh
SR