In order to reduce potential for wildfires along a busy four-mile stretch of the Cajon Pass on Interstate 15, multi-agency team of firefighters had been working with Caltrans to clear 30 feet of grass and brush lining the northbound side of the highway from Kenwood Drive to Cleghorn Road. The project was completed much faster than scheduled. Now in its third year of maintenance, the Cajon Pass Ignition Reduction Project was again implemented by the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans, CAL FIRE and San Bernardino County Fire. The California Highway Patrol monitored the area throughout the completion of the project. By removing the available fuel that typically would catch fire from vehicle accidents or overheated freight trucks, fire managers have seen noticeably lower number of fires over the last two years.
“In recent years, we have had high frequencies of fire starts along this particular northbound stretch of highway,” said Mike Page, a fuels and prevention battalion chief for the San Bernardino National Forest. “However last year in 2019 there was a noticeable reduction.”
By reducing the number of fires along the bustling Cajon Pass, this will reduce the need for Caltrans to conduct lane closures which slows down traffic even more.
