There was a small body of water near my house named "Cull Canyon Reservoir".

The above picture was taken in winter 2010; the reservoir was full, and the water was rushing over the spillway to the right.

Here’s a picture of the spillway:

A dam was built across Cull Creek in 1963. Originally it formed a lake 30 feet deep, but it was almost entirely silted up when the above pictures were taken, and the deepest part was no more than 6 feet deep. The dam doesn’t meet modern seismic standards, and it would take a lot of money to retrofit.

The lake in winter was peaceful, cool, and calm. Birds and other wildlife are common, and a bit of joy to drive by on your way home.

Summer 2013 was hot; California was several years in to a major drought.