LOS ANGELES, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In observation
of National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day), Southern California Gas Co.
(SoCalGas) volunteers on Saturday joined employees from Southern
California Edison (SCE) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power (LADWP) to help restore hiking trails in the Angeles National
Forest that were damaged by fire in 2009.
"SoCalGas is committed to supporting the communities we serve,"
said Lisa Alexander, vice president
of SoCalGas' customer solutions and communications. "Last year
alone, our dedicated employees spent more than 15,000 hours
volunteering their time in communities across Southern California. We're excited to partner
with Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power to restore safe access to hiking trails in one of
the country's most beautiful national forests and monuments."
Since the 2009 Station Fire burned more than 160,500 acres of
land in the Angeles National Forest, brush has overgrown the hiking
trails making many of the pathways unsafe for hikers. Volunteers
from the three utilities worked to clear hiking trails of
poodle-dog brush, which grows quickly after fires and can cause
severe skin irritations when touched. The Angeles National Forest,
of the U.S. Forest Service, is located in the San Gabriel Mountains
National Monument.
"I want to thank all the volunteers and partners who provide
tremendous support throughout the year. These partners inspired
their workforce to actively participate in National Get Outdoors
Day by encouraging their employees to volunteer to help cleanup
trails," said Jeff Vail, forest
supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service. "This truly embodied the
intent of the day, which is to get people outdoors to use their
public lands, while making a meaningful contribution to their
community."
Employees from SoCalGas, SCE and LADWP organized the outing to
promote a culture of environmental responsibility at the utilities.
The volunteers worked to restore hiking trails near the upper Big
Tujunga watershed, off Angeles Crest Highway 2 in the San Gabriel
Mountains National Monument.
"We consider the hiking trails and the surrounding habitat in
the Angeles National Forest to be precious local treasures," said
Nancy Sutley, chief sustainability
& economic development officer for LADWP. "We are proud to
support efforts to preserve them."
In its ninth year, GO Day is an outgrowth of the Get Outdoors
USA! campaign, which encourages
Americans - especially youth - to lead healthy, active outdoor
lives and to embrace parks, forests, refuges and other public
lands.
"Helping protect and improve the environment is one of Southern
California Edison's priorities, and we continue to support Angeles
National Forest to ensure that future generations have access to
open spaces at our nation's public parks," said Janet Clayton, senior vice president, corporate
communications, Southern California Edison and Edison
International.
More than 15 million people live within 90 minutes of the San
Gabriel Mountains and the range provides open space and
recreational opportunities for many Southern California residents. The National
Forest Foundation, the nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest
Service, helped organize the event. Chartered by the U.S. Congress,
the foundation brings people together to enhance the country's
193-million-acre national forest system.
"It's critical to receive support from corporations and their
employees to accomplish our important work," said Edward Belden, the foundation's Southern California program associate. "Thanks
to our partners, families from throughout Southern California can visit the San Gabriel
Mountains National Monument and enjoy these trails."
About Southern California Gas Co.
Southern California
Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has been delivering clean, safe and reliable
natural gas to its customers for more than 145 years. It is the
nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, providing
service to 21.6 million consumers connected through 5.9 million
meters in more than 500 communities. The company's service
territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles throughout
central and Southern California,
from Visalia to the Mexican
border. SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:
SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in
San Diego.
About Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
The
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal
water and power utility in the nation, was established more than
100 years ago to deliver reliable, safe water and electricity to
3.8 million residents and businesses in Los Angeles. LADWP provides its 666,000 water
customers and 1.4 million electric customers with quality service
at competitive prices.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison
International company, Southern California Edison is one of the
nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly
14 million via 5 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile
service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
About the National Forest Foundation
Founded by
Congress in 1991, the National Forest Foundation works to conserve,
restore and enhance America's 193-million-acre National Forest
System. Through community-based strategies and public-private
partnerships, the NFF works with the Forest Service to enhance
wildlife habitat, revitalize wildfire-damaged landscapes, restore
watersheds, enrich outdoor experiences, and engage communities in
forest stewardship for the benefit of all Americans.
About the U.S. Forest Service
The mission of the U.S. Forest Service, part of U.S. Department of
Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity
of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present
and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of
public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners,
and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the
world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than
$13 billion to the economy each year
through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent
of the nation's clean water supply, a value estimated at
$7.2 billion per year. The agency has
either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent
of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100
million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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SOURCE Southern California Gas Co.