Santiago Peak

As the rest of Orange County basked in springlike temperatures Thursday, radio technician Tom Webb stepped out of his truck and into ankle-deep snow, hunched low in his jacket against the freezing wind atop 5,687-foot Santiago Peak. For nearly an hour, Webb had threaded his way past rock slides and snowdrifts on a narrow shale road, where one wrong turn could have meant a deadly drop of hundreds of feet.

A 55-year-old hiker missing overnight in the Cleveland National Forest walked out Sunday morning cold and wet but uninjured. Bill Cunningham of Mission Viejo said he had planned to hike about six hours Saturday morning but got lost in the snow falling in the highest parts of the Santa Ana Mountains. "My goal was to reach Santiago Peak and come back," Cunningham said from his home Sunday. He reached the peak, but during his descent "it was snowing heavily and I couldn't see . . .

A private helicopter carrying transmission antenna repairmen to Santiago Peak in eastern Orange County made a rough emergency landing on the mountainside Wednesday, causing minor injuries to a passenger. Orange County Sheriff's Lt. William Miller said the two-seat Robinson R-22 helicopter based at Long Beach Airport was approaching the 5,687-foot peak just before 2 p.m. when the rotor blades lost power.

Nine members of Congress, including the entire Orange County delegation, have thrown their political muscle behind Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa's battle to keep a radio transmitter atop Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest. U.S. Forest Service officials are studying whether commercial broadcasting should be permitted on Santiago Peak, the highest point in Orange County.

The bodies of two men found in a truck that plunged 1,000 feet off a steep dirt road near Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest were recovered Monday, authorities said. A spokesman for the coroner's office identified the men as Michael Joseph Klucas, 24, of Mission Viejo, the driver of the truck, and James Joseph Schiada Jr., 28, of El Toro, a passenger.

As the rest of Orange County basked in spring-like temperatures, radio technician Tom Webb stepped out of his truck and into ankle-deep snow, hunched low in his jacket against the freezing wind atop 5,687-foot Santiago Peak. For nearly an hour, Webb had threaded his way past rockslides and snowdrifts on a narrow shale road, where one wrong turn could have meant a deadly drop of hundreds of feet.

Two persons who died when a 4-wheel-drive vehicle plunged off Santiago Peak and rolled down the mountainside Sunday were identified as Leslie McPartland, 22, of Laguna Hills, and Thomas Griffin, 25, of El Toro. A 23-year-old El Toro man who was a passenger in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle and who survived the plunge crawled from the wreckage Sunday night and hiked to a dirt road in search of help, according to Officer Keith Thornhill of the California Highway Patrol.

Two people were killed and another injured Sunday when a car apparently went off a road on Santiago Peak in eastern Orange County and plunged 700 feet, Orange County Fire Department spokesman said late Sunday as rescuers attempted to recover the bodies. The injured man apparently hailed a passing car and was being transported down the mountain when he met rescue workers on their way up to the accident, county fire dispatcher Jay Quinty said.

The U.S. Forest Service is exploring a plan to ban commercial broadcasting from transmitters on Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest, a move that could force San Clemente-based KWAVE to tear down its newly installed radio antenna. Forestry officials say that the powerful commercial broadcasts could interfere with the peak's weaker two-way radio transmitters, which are used by most of the county's police, fire and emergency departments.

Nine members of Congress, including the entire Orange County delegation, have thrown their political muscle behind Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa's battle to keep a radio transmitter atop Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest. U.S. Forest Service officials are studying whether commercial broadcasting should be permitted on Santiago Peak, the highest point in Orange County.

Two missing hikers sought by rescue teams and bloodhounds in the Cleveland National Forest walked to safety early Wednesday, cold and hungry but uninjured after their overnight ordeal. Stefanie Barela, 24, and Alys Martinez, 25, emerged just after daybreak at the trail head in Holy Jim Canyon, where some searchers and media crews were waiting.

The U.S. Forest Service is exploring a plan to ban commercial broadcasting from transmitters on Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest, a move that could force San Clemente-based KWAVE to tear down its newly installed radio antenna. Forestry officials say that the powerful commercial broadcasts could interfere with the peak's weaker two-way radio transmitters, which are used by most of the county's police, fire and emergency departments.

They didn't think much about it at the time, but Yvette Hill and Maureen Dopson broke a cardinal rule of wilderness hiking April 26. They didn't tell anyone where they were going. So when they got lost in the Cleveland National Forest, no one knew where to look. "We hadn't decided where [to hike] until we got in the car," said Hill, of Irvine, who became lost with Dopson after they followed a trail sign they now believe had been altered by vandals.

The first rain of the season caught many county residents by the tails of their cars. The drizzle was blamed for about 40 car accidents reported Tuesday in the county, mostly fender-benders, California Highway Patrol Public Affairs Officer Joan Rivas said. "People are driving as if it's sunny and dry, and they just can't do that," Rivas said. The light showers were expected to continue today with a slight chance of rain Thursday, according to WeatherData.

There are at least two ways to get into every saddle, and getting up Old Saddleback--the popular name for the two highest peaks in Orange County and the saddle formed between them--is no exception. The peaks are Santiago, the highest at 5,687 feet, and Modjeska, at 5,496. The first time up Santiago Peak, we started from the terminus of Silverado Canyon Road, hit Modjeska first and then continued along the saddle to Santiago. That longish route took a friend and me 20 or so miles.

The storms battering the county may break long enough for a stunning view of the solar eclipse at dusk today, but the road leading to one of the county's best viewing sites will be closed. The heavy rains of the past 10 days forced the U.S. Forest Service on Friday to close the end of Silverado Canyon Road leading to Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest.

The storms battering the county may break long enough for a stunning view of the solar eclipse at dusk today, but the road leading to one of the county's best viewing sites will be closed. The heavy rains of the past 10 days forced the U.S. Forest Service on Friday to close the end of Silverado Canyon Road leading to Santiago Peak in the Cleveland National Forest.

Think of it as an invisible counterpart to the Los Angeles four-level interchange. That's how Walter Baranger, a technology expert with the New York Times, describes the airspace around Santiago Peak, at 5,687 feet the highest point in Orange County. Santiago Peak is the southern half of the peaks (Modjeska, at 5,496 feet, is the other) that make up Saddleback.

Think of it as an invisible counterpart to the Los Angeles four-level interchange. That's how Walter Baranger, a technology expert with the New York Times, describes the airspace around Santiago Peak, at 5,687 feet the highest point in Orange County. Santiago Peak is the southern half of the peaks (Modjeska, at 5,496 feet, is the other) that make up Saddleback.

Two persons who died when a 4-wheel-drive vehicle plunged off Santiago Peak and rolled down the mountainside Sunday were identified as Leslie McPartland, 22, of Laguna Hills, and Thomas Griffin, 25, of El Toro. A 23-year-old El Toro man who was a passenger in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle and who survived the plunge crawled from the wreckage Sunday night and hiked to a dirt road in search of help, according to Officer Keith Thornhill of the California Highway Patrol.