Temporary Forest Supervisor of Angeles National Forest Named

The United States Forest Service has named a temporary forest supervisor of the Angeles National Forest.

Tom Torres, 58, will serve until July, when the U.S. Forest Service is expected to appoint a permanent supervisor, according to a Daily Bulletin report.

Portions of the sprawling Angeles National Forest cover the mountains directly north of Pasadena.

Torres is the fourth person to lead the Angeles National Forest in the past seven years.

He replaced Jerry Perez who had served from 2018 to February.

Perez reportedly left his post to move into a new position in the U.S. Forest Service as national director of fire and aviation management, according to the Daily Bulletin.

Prior to his appointment, Torres was deputy forest supervisor in the Tonto National Forest near Phoenix.

Torres, who was an engineer for the forest service, has also worked in other forests in the western U.S. He has been stationed in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Mt. Hood, Willamette, Lincoln, San Juan, and Kaibab national forests.

As supervisor, Torres will oversee the 700,000-acre urban forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, 346,177 acres of land within the forest.

His responsibilities include among others habitat and endangered species protection, visitor experience management, road maintenance and fire suppression and prevention.