Fire scorched forest reopens
Fallen trees and rockslides keep some trails and roads closed in Sespe Wilderness
By Bill Lascher 05/17/2007
Los Padres Forest officials made the best of the aftermath of last fall’s Day Fire, which burned nearly 163,000 acres, including much of the Sespe Wilderness, when they announced May 2 that the long-closed area would once again be open to the public.
Public access to the area was cut off after the fire began on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 2006. When the fire was contained in October, U.S. Forest Service officials kept the affected areas off-limits in order to allow the land to begin its natural recovery process, and to protect the public from landslides on loose soil no longer held in place by healthy roots.
“People are anxious to get back there,” said Kathy Good, a spokeswoman for the Los Padres National Forest.
Good said that although some people may be turned off by the charred landscape left by the fire, other hikers and campers will recognize the importance of fire in a forest ecosystem.
“Fire is a natural part of the environment,” she said. “People will get to experience it and witness the natural recovery of the area.”
Some trails, however, will remain inaccessible. According to the forest service, an eight-mile section of the Red Reef Trail in the Sespe Wilderness will remain closed through spring 2008, as will a three-mile segment of the Sespe River Trail. Both were obliterated by landslides. Other roads and trails were blocked by dead trees, and it may take up to two months for them to be cleared.
“Even with the reopening we’re asking people to be alert,” Good said.
Good said the fire reminded her of a massive fire that devastated Yellowstone National Park in 1988, where she was working at the time.
“It’s actually kind of interesting to be in an area like that to see the change that’s underway and observe the regrowth of the vegetation and the behavior of the wildlife,” Good said. “But there are others who picture it as a ruined landscape, and they won’t be back for years. That’s just the way people are.”
Visitors to the forest will have a chance to see several plants known as fire followers, among other changes, Forest Botanist Lloyd Simpson said.
“Typically, when you have a fire you tend to see a lot more plants that you haven’t seen in awhile because there is a lot more open area,” he said.
The first visitors to the recovering Los Padres are likely to see seedlings for oak and manzanita trees as well as ceanothus, or California lilacs.
But Simpson also said new vegetation may be somewhat limited because of a current drought. Normally, it takes about seven years for vegetation to recover to where it was prior to the fire (many more for trees), but that process may be somewhat slowed if the drought persists.
“The fires are going to happen no matter what,” Simpson said. “A chaparral ecosystem normally burns once every 40 years.”
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT