Carbon Canyon Regional Park front sign during summer

Carbon Canyon Regional Park (or simply Carbon Canyon Park) is a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

in Brea, California, that was created after the Carbon Canyon Creek was dammed. It links up with Chino Hills State Park on the east side. The park also is home to a small forest of Redwood trees, which have been struggling to survive since the start of the 2010 California drought.

History

The park area used to be the town of Olinda just before the 1880s. When a dam on Carbon Canyon Creek was built to prevent

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

, the area became a park. The lake in the center of the park was rebuilt in 2014 due to reduced water quality and capacity, which resulted in OC Parks not being able to stock the lake with fish. Demolition of the existing lake began on July 14, 2014. The lake had to be drained completely in order for heavy equipment to be used to remove approximately 9,500

cubic yards Cubic may refer to: Science and mathematics * Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement * Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex ** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system w ...

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

. The silt had accumulated under the lake over the course of 17 years from

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

and

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

. Removal of the silt was started in August 2014. Removal was completed in October 2014 and the process of refilling the lake started. Fish were stocked approximately a month after the refilling was completed.

Redwood forest

A of Coastal Sequoia redwood trees reside within the park's boundaries and is host to various species of birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

. The forest was threatened in 2008 by the Triangle Fire and by the

California drought The historical and ongoing droughts in California result from various complex meteorological phenomena, some of which are not fully understood by scientists. Drought is generally defined as “a deficiency of precipitation over an extended peri ...

from 2010 to 2016. The staff at Carbon Canyon Park have met with specialists from

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the t ...

and

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

in order to put a new system in place that will sustain the forest through the current drought. Despite these efforts, one tree was cut down in 2015 due to it being sick and near death.

Facilities

Carbon Canyon Regional Park has the following facilities: * Cross Country course (

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

) * Tennis courts * Volleyball courts * Playgrounds *

Man-made lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

* Fishing platforms * Restrooms * Outdoor shelters * Nature, horse, hiking

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

s The park is used by people who want to have picnics or to celebrate holidays. The hiking trail to the Redwood forest also attracts hikers. It is also a frequent training and competitive area for various cross country teams.

Fire fighting

Fire helicopter extracting water from Carbon Canyon Park lake

The lake in the park is often used to fill fire fighting helicopters when responding to fires in the area. The most notable use like this was during the Triangle Fire in 2008. The fire was threatening the eastern side of the city of Brea; including the Hollydale, Olinda Village, and Olinda Ranch communities, alongside Carbon Canyon Regional Park.

References

{{Brea, California Brea, California Parks in Orange County, California Regional parks in California College cross country courses in the United States Cross country running courses in California Cal State Fullerton Titans cross country