Wildfires Close Much of Forest, Open a New Page in Mountains

     When it was finally contained after weeks of hungry flames and billowing smoke, the Station Fire that began August 26 near Highway 2 a few miles north of La Canada had burned over 160,000 acres, about one-fourth of Angeles National Forest, and opened a new page in the San Gabriel Mountains.
     For the U.S. Forest Service which manages the forest, there were the problems of how to prevent further damage over the winter, foster recovery in the burned areas and prepare for a press of visitors funneling into the places left unburned.
      The Forest Service quickly issued an order closing the burned areas to the public for a year until Sept. 30, 2010, except for authorized persons. The closure order and map can be viewed at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/orders/ Click on Station Fire Recovery Order, and Exhibit B.
     Hikers, bikers, bird watchers and other visitors looked for alternatives to their favorite trails, canyons, peaks, vistas and camps. Botanists worried that they might not be able to walk the burned areas in the spring to see and record the advent of "fire-followers" - rare plants that come up only after a fire - a once- in-a-generation occurrence.
     Dozens who had enjoyed the mountains over the years answered the call for volunteers to help restore the forest, and the Sierra Club soon had a list of nearly 200 people ready to work. They were organized as the Angeles Forest Restoration Project, under the Angeles Chapter's Forest Committee, to coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service on needed projects.
     Trails needed repairs after hillsides left bare by fire shed dirt and debris onto them. But that work was deferred until the end of spring rains to avoid having to repeat the work after winter erosion damaged the trails again. A report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey made clear the damage that loose hillsides and debris flows could cause in foothill communities, as well as to trails in the forest, under various rainfall scenarios. The entire report, with photos, maps and charts, can be seen at:  http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1227/
     Postponing trail repairs until spring 2010 leaves time for planning and training. Some Sierra Club volunteers planned to get experience in trail repairs by working with veteran trail builders in undamaged sections of the forest. One group, the San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders, regularly does trail work two or three Saturdays a month. Their website, http://www.sgmtrailbuilders.org/ lists the group's projects, schedule, a useful description of tools and a glossary of trail terms.
      There were projects to be done during the next several weeks and months in unburned areas. The Forest Service called for volunteers to help improve recreational opportunities in sections of the forest still open for recreation. With much of its budget going to fire-fighting, the Forest Service has consistently been short of funds for recreation facilities and services. The shortage of restrooms, picnic tables and garbage cans, as well as staff, in typically crowded areas could be even more acute next summer as more visitors head for these available areas.
     In the natural environment, nature will eventually heal most of the damage. Much of the burned area was covered with chaparral, which is adapted to fire and grows up again in several years. As plants recover, wildlife that escaped the flames will be able to return. Recovery of trees will take much longer. Any replanting would be done under supervision of the Forest Service, with due regard for native plants and the harm that could result from replacing species with non-local stock.
     Meanwhile, as the fires were burning, the National Park Service was holding public meetings to receive comments on proposals that eventually could see the San Gabriels as part of a San Gabriels Watershed National Recreation Area. The forest would remain under U.S. Forest Service management, but the National Park Service could bring its tradition and experience in recreation, plus added resources, to the scene.
     A final NPS report and proposal is to be sent to Congress in 2011, and perhaps embodied in legislation. So in several years, the forest that was seared by fire in 2009 could again be covered by vegetation and taking on new life as part of a National Recreation Area.

After the Flames, the 'Fire Followers' Get Their Opportunity to Bloom

     The aftermath of the Station Fire has left many hikers depressed: When will we be able to hike on our trails again, and would we even want to go there, now that everything has been burned up?
     But nature is resilient as always and already on the road to recovery. Soon after the fire passed, green shoots began to sprout - from the roots with unharmed underground resources and directly out of the trunks whose thick bark protected them from damage.
     Against the overall backdrop of charred wood and ashes, the bright green shoots look all the more full of life. As I write six weeks after the fire and a week after a little rain, the burned landscape is dotted with green - thick bunches of shoots directly out of the charred branches and trunks of Coast Live Oak, long thin shoots from the burned stumps of walnut, toyon, and laurel sumac, and clumps of leaves at the bases of poison oak, mugwort, mulefat, and blackberry. Before winter ends, morning glory and wild cucumber vines will spread over the ground and twist up into the blackened branches using energy stored in their large root systems undamaged by the fire.

     In fact, chemicals from the ash and smoke contribute to the spectacular bloom. Ashes in the soil stimulate the germination of the seeds of California everlasting, caterpillar phacelia, and some of the lupines. Some flowers are "fire-followers," blooming only after a fire: The seeds need heat or the chemicals in charred wood and ashes to break through their tough coats. The seeds of the golden eardrops, whispering bells, fire poppies, Arroyo lupine, and yellow-throated phacelia can lie in the soil for years until a fire passes, then germinate and bloom for only a year or two after the fire. The seeds they produce will not germinate until the next fire, so the only chance we have to see them is in the first year or two after a fire.
     So watch for opportunities to hit the trail again to see the amazing rebirth of our hills. Follow the same route each month, if possible, and take a camera or sketch book to document the rapid growth and changing aspect around you. Most important, share the news with friends that the forest may have burned but it was not destroyed and is well on its way to a quick recovery.