News & Columns > Michael P. Neufeld > St. Sophia Camp Demolished (Update)

St. Sophia Camp Demolished (Update)

Contractor Wm. Kanayan Construction Levels Buildings

By Michael P. Neufeld
Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Update - Tuesday 3:38 a.m.

Old Waterman Canyon - The buildings at St. Sophia Camp are gone and the property is being returned to its natural state.

The campground, owned by St. Sophia Cathedral of Los Angeles, had become an eyesore following its partial destruction in a flash flood on December 25, 2003.

The demolition of the substandard buildings at St. Sophia Camp in Old Waterman Canyon has been completed by Wm. Kanayan Construction. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld/San Bernardino County.)

Wm. Kanayan Construction was hired to level the buildings on the 26-acre parcel that were covered with graffiti and burned the last week of August 2009.

All buildings at St. Sophia Camp, destroyed by a Christmas Day flood in 2003, have been demolished. (Photo by San Bernardino County.)

San Bernardino County Fire, County Code Enforcement, Environmental Health Services and the property owners were involved in devising a plan to remove the hazards at the camp site where over a dozen people died a few weeks after the Old Fire in 2003.

Update

Old Waterman Canyon - The long road to demolishing the buildings at St. Sophia Camp is a step closer today after the contractor cut a roadway into the property.

The first cut for the replacement roadway to Camp St. Sophia was made Monday by equipment operators from Wm. Kanayan Construction. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Wm. Kanayan Construction of Rimforest finally received the final approval to cut the road into the project to facilitate access to the former campground owned by St. Sophia Cathedral of Los Angeles.

After a lengthy permit process and getting approval from the property owner, the new roadway into Camp St. Sophia inches closer to reality. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Kanayan reports the roadway will provide access to the crews responsible for removing hazardous materials such as asbestos found at the site.

Debris was cleared for the construction of a new roadway into Camp St. Sophia off Old Waterman Canyon Road. The debris included rocks, small trees, burned logs and even a mattress. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

"Now that the road is in place," Kanayan stated, "it's still about two weeks before the actual demolition can start."

On December 25, 2003 the old road into Camp St. Sophia was destroyed in a flash flood. The new road will allow access to the site for removal of hazardous materials and eventual demolition of the former Greek Orthodox campground. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

The original road was washed away during a flash flood on December 25, 2003 that killed over a dozen people at the 26-acre Greek Orthodox campground.

Update

Old Waterman Canyon - The demolition of the buildings at St. Sophia Camp are a step closer to being razed. The contractor is currently awaiting final approval of permits.

Wm. Kanayan Construction has posted the job site on Old Waterman Canyon Road as they prepare to begin demolition of St. Sophia Camp. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Wm. Kanayan Construction of Rimforest has now posted the site and underground utility companies have marked the location of gas, water and electric service in preparation of the actual demolition project.

A temporary road to allow access to St. Sophia Camp by demolition crews will be cut in this area off of Old Waterman Canyon Road. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

A temporary roadway, which is reportedly awaiting approval from the California Department of Fish and Game, will be cut from Old Waterman Canyon Road up to the actual site. The original road was washed away during a flash flood on December 25, 2003.

Original Story

Old Waterman Canyon - The buildings at St. Sophia Camp will soon be coming down, once environmental issues are resolved. But, the process has been expedited by the owners working with governmental agencies to establish a timetable.

The walls at St. Sophia Camp on Old Waterman Canyon Road are covered with graffiti and the abandoned facility has become an attractive nuisance. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

The property owners, St. Sophia Cathedral of Los Angeles, have hired Wm. Kanayan Construction of Rimforest to do the actual demolition and site clearance project.

"I met with the owners representative yesterday," William Kanayan told RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, "the first meeting since the contract was approved last Friday."

This outbuilding at St. Sophia Camp is covered with graffiti and is scheduled to be demolished under a contract awarded to Wm. Kanayan Construction. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Kanayan acknowledged there are several environmental issues that must be addressed before the actual demolition can commence.

Approval is also being sought to cut a driveway into the 26-acre property to allow access by demolition crews and equipment.

This building on the 26-acre former location of St. Sophia Camp burned in the early morning hours on Wednesday, August 26. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Issues such as asbestos and other environmental hazards must be addressed and mitigated before Kanayan's workers can start knocking down the walls and removing the debris. That process also requires the issuance of certain permits from San Bernardino County.

A fire at the abandoned camp the last week of August drew a large response from fire officials because it was initially reported as a vegetation fire.

A fire August 26 at St. Sophia Camp destroyed the shell of this empty structure and came close to igniting brush and trees at the Old Waterman Canyon Road location. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

San Bernardino County Fire Battalion Chief Marc Peebles explained "squatters" probably caused the fire that caused the roof of the 2,500-square-foot main building to collapse, along with a wall.

Firefighters had to avoid this tilting wall while controlling a fire August 26 in a building at St. Sophia Camp on Old Waterman Canyon Road. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

"County Fire has been working with Code Enforcement, environmental health services and the property owners to remove the hazards at the camp by abating the buildings and site," Peebles emphasized.

Only a portion of the shell of this building remains standing at St. Sophia Camp following an early morning blaze on August 26. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

St. Sophia Camp was destroyed on Christmas Day 2003 when a flash flood swept through the Greek Orthodox campground, killing over a dozen people.

Since that time, the abandoned facility has been covered with graffiti and paintball markings, and squatters have been known to frequent the area. Several fires have been reported over the years, in the area of the camp, while church officials were trying to resolve litigation with the State of California.

During several spot checks of the St. Sophia Camp over the past few days by RIMOFTHEWORLD.net personnel, a guard has been stationed on Old Waterman Canyon Road to discourage persons from trespassing on the property.

This article was first published on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 7:22 pm. This article has been viewed 4571 times.

Michael P. Neufeld, Senior News Editor, is a graduate of the Dwight Bentel School of Journalism at San Jose State University. His first job out of San Jose State was with the Associated Press in Los Angeles as overnight Radio Editor. Prior to joining RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, Neufeld was editor of two weekly newspapers—THE MOUNTAIN NEWS and CRESTLINE COURIER-NEWS. He also has experience as editor of an employee newspaper for a major utility company and during his tenure as executive director of the San Jose State University Alumni Association served as faculty advisor to the association's monthly newsletter. He also spent eight years in commercial radio doing everything from news to advertising sales and writing commercials to being an announcer and on-air personality. Neufeld is actively involved the mountain communities including serving as master of ceremonies for the Arrowhead Arts Music Festival held each summer.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Michael P. Neufeld.