Modjeska Peak: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

The peak, which was formerly unnamed and generally lumped in with Santiago Peak, was dubbed Modjeska Peak following the death of Helena Modjeska. The [[Ebell Society]] of Santa Ana campaigned in June 1909 for the new name to honor Modjeska and the change was made sometime thereafter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Club Notes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/47145131/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The San Bernardino County Sun |date=6 June 6, 1909 |location=San Bernardino, California |page=10}}</ref>

Aside from [[United States Forest Service]] rangers, the first recorded people to hike the new trail from Modjeska Canyon to Modjeska Peak were J. H. Scott and A. J. Perkins in April 1919.<ref>{{cite news |title=Santa Anans are First Hikers Over New Trail to Peak |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/71486732/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=Santa Ana Register |date=7 April 7, 1919 |location=Santa Ana, California |page=2}}</ref> Following the creation of the new trail, Modjeska Peak became much more accessible to civilians. Hikes to the peak led by the [[Sierra Club]] became a regular occurrence and people from across Orange County and [[Los Angeles]] traveled to ascend the peak. Transport to the area was made possible by a bus service that connected the canyons to [[Pacific Electric]]'s [[Santa Ana Line]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Arranges for Outing to Modjeska Peak |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380538171/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Los Angeles Times |date=31 October 31, 1919 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=21}}</ref>

The Coors American Original 150, a 150-mile (240 km) [[mountain biking]] race from [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] to [[Newport Beach, California|Newport Beach]], traversed Modjeska Peak as one of the two mountain ranges included in the race's course. The race took place on October 2, 1988.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tustin Honda Among Bike Race Sponsors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123148316/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Tustin News |date=29 September 29, 1988 |location=Tustin, California |page=9}}</ref>

Modjeska Peak formerly had radio and television infrastructure in place. In 1996, [[Pacific Bell]] began providing a [[Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service]] ("wireless cable") television service in Southern California with its tower atop Modjeska Peak being one of the two broadcast sources.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Greg |title=Cable TV, Unplugged - Pacific Bell Readies O.C. Wireless System |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/159371380/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Los Angeles Times |date=20 June 20, 1996 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=163}}</ref> The Pacific Bell tower has since been removed and today most of the mountain range's wireless antennas are on the neighboring Santiago Peak.

===Wildfires and incidents===

Modjeska Peak was burned in a 1926 wildfire that began in Santiago Canyon on October 31.<ref name="sa1">{{cite news |title=Snow 6 Inches Deep Recorded in Silverado |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/74405318/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=Santa Ana Register |date=10 December 10, 1926 |location=Santa Ana, California |page=23}}</ref> The flames headed east and crossed the ridge of Modjeska Peak, heading as far as [[Corona, California|Corona]]'s Cold Water and Pine canyons on the east side of the mountains. Six inches of snow was recorded in the area on December 10 and Ranger J. B. Stephenson said that if the [[precipitation]] was rain, large-scale [[mudflow]]s likely would have occurred as a result of the fire's burn scar.<ref name="sa1" />

On March 26, 1972, a [[Cessna 172|Cessna 172H]] with one pilot and two passengers on board slammed into the side of Modjeska Peak, killing two. The plane originated from [[Las Vegas]] and was en route to [[Hawthorne Municipal Airport (California)|Hawthorne Municipal Airport]] in the Los Angeles area. Since the plane crashed at night, the wreckage was not discovered until 15 hours later when a [[United States Marine Corps]] helicopter was flying over the area for training. The lone survivor of the crash was described as being in "satisfactory" condition and was only admitted to the hospital for observation.<ref>{{cite news |title=2 Die, 1 Survives in Light Plane Crash on Modjeska Peak |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/385434731/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Los Angeles Times |date=28 March 28, 1972 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=5}}</ref> According to the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] report on the incident, the pilot of the plane became disoriented after one of the passengers repeatedly shined a [[flashlight]] in his face, leading to the descent into the side of Modjeska Peak.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crash Report |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/brief.aspx?ev_id=64066 |website=National Transportation Safety Board |publisher=United States government |access-date=23 February 23, 2022}}</ref>

In late November 1980, a fire called the Indian Canyon Fire was started by an [[arson]]ist. It burned {{convert|28000|acre}} and reached the northwest corner of Modjeska Peak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Jerry |title=Indian Canyon Fire - Restoring Burned Area is Next Step |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/387152138/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Los Angeles Times |date=1 December 1, 1980 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=40}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Vanderkynff |first1=Rick |title=A History of Brush Fires |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-06-li-12861-story.html |website=The Los Angeles Times |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |date=6 November 6, 1987}}</ref>

On December 27, 1999, a vehicle driving near the top of Modjeska Peak veered off the trail and crashed, leaving the motorist uninjured but starting a small brush fire. The fire was quickly extinguished.<ref>{{cite news |title=Motorist Unhurt After Car Tumbles |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/579855520/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |agency=City News Service |publisher=The Californian |date=28 December 28, 1999 |location=Temecula, California |page=22}}</ref>

The 2007 [[Santiago Fire]] burned through Modjeska Peak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barboza |first1=Tony |author2=Janet Wilson |author3=Seema Mehta |title=Fire Crews Catch a Break From the Weather, For Now |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/193625795/ |access-date=23 February 23, 2022 |publisher=The Los Angeles Times |date=30 October 30, 2007 |page=49}}</ref>

==References==