Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Regional park in Brea, United States.
Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea was formed by damming Carbon Canyon Creek and adjoins Chino Hills State Park on its east side. A lake sits at its centre, rebuilt in 2014 after roughly 9,500 cubic yards of silt were removed. A three-acre grove of coast redwoods, planted in the 1970s, stands within the park.
The park occupies the site of Olinda, a town that existed just before the 1880s. The area became a park after a dam was built on Carbon Canyon Creek to prevent flooding. In 2014 the central lake was rebuilt: it was drained, about 9,500 cubic yards of silt were removed, and fish were restocked about a month after refilling.
The park's name comes from Carbon Canyon Creek, dammed to control flooding. The three-acre redwood grove, planted in the 1970s, is maintained as an artificial ecosystem with irrigation and soil management, and staff consulted UC Irvine and Disneyland specialists to sustain it through drought. Cross country teams train and compete here, and picnics and holiday gatherings are common.
The park links to Chino Hills State Park on its east side, so through-hikers can continue into the state park from the redwood grove trail. The central lake doubles as a water source for firefighting helicopters during area fires, as in the 2008 Triangle Fire.
The three-acre redwood grove was planted in the 1970s with saplings, outside the species' natural range, which is limited to coastal northern California and southern Oregon. Staff met with specialists from UC Irvine and Disneyland to install a system sustaining the trees through drought, and one sick tree was cut down in 2015.
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