‘ Glimmers of hope’ grow out of disaster

Point Reyes fire burned underbrush, preventing future hazards

The Woodward Fire, which engulfed nearly 5,000 acres on the southern shore of Point Reyes National Seashore last month, was beneficial — at least if you happen to be a spotted owl or a Douglas fir.

The 4,900acre blaze, which caused the evacuation of many West Marin homes and emitted smoke that polluted nearby skies, had a positive impact on the landscape by clearing out underbrush much the way prescribed burns do. That’s the conclusion of a newly concluded postfire analysis by the National Park Service, which oversees the

“Our California landscapes evolved with fire and an ecosystem can get out of balance without it.”

Alison Forrestel, GGNRA chief of natural resource management and former Point Reyes fire ecologist

Peninsula’s beloved 71,000 acres of coastal grasslands and conifer forests.

It’s one bright spot in an otherwise bleak wildfire season. “Embedded in the tragedy, there are glimmers of hope,” said Nelson Siefkin, who oversaw the National Park Service’s analysis.

The lightningsparked blaze spit vast amounts of noxious smoke into neighboring communities and forced many West Marin residents to flee their homes. Though modest in scale compared with other fires this season in Northern California, the smoke generated was enough to choke the skies as far east as Novato.

The fire itself, however, was largely advantageous for the landscape — burning in the kind of mosaic pattern that does “good ecological work,” explained Alison Forrestel, chief of natural resource management for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and a former Point Reyes fire ecologist.

“Our California landscapes evolved with fire, and an ecosystem can get out of balance without it,” Forrestel said.

The Woodward Fire burned at low to moderate temperatures, consuming old fuels on the forest floor while sparing the area’s larger Douglas firs.

The fire’s slow burn eliminated underbrush that would have otherwise built up over time and become an even bigger fire hazard, Siefkin said.

In addition to reducing the intensity of future wildfires, the removal of underbrush can benefit animals such as spotted owls, which find it easier to spot their prey on the cleanedup forest floor. The flames also expose bare mineral soil that can help regenerate certain types of coastal scrub, such as coyote brush, which sprouts with vigor after a fire.

By midSeptember, just one week after firefighters contained the blaze, Point Reyes ecologists were spotting signs of life within the burn area, Forrestel said. Shrubs were sprouting new growth from beneath their charred leaves.

The biggest concern now is controlling the rise of such invasive species as jubata grass, a bushy, plumed grass already present in the park. Ecologists will need to remain vigilant to prevent invasive species from gaining a foothold, as they did after the 1995 Vision Fire, the last wildfire to occur within the park’s boundaries, Forrestel said.

Siefkin and his team found no risk of landslides or other environmental threats to the surrounding landscape as a result of the fire. But the park’s burned area remains dangerous and should remain closed — though Siefkin conceded that such a “draconian measure” could be unpopular with the park’s many visitors.

“It’s a lot easier to keep people safe by keeping them out than trying to mitigate hazard trees at one time,” he said.

The park plans to let nature take its course and allow winter winds to blow down damaged trees before reopening trails in the spring.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Forest Service firefighters conduct a firing operation as the Woodward Fire burns at Point Reyes in August.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Smoke from the Woodward Fire rises from the trees inside Point Reyes National Seashore. Beneficially, it cleared out underbrush.

Photos by Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Firefighters monitor trees and flames as the Woodward Fire burns the underbrush along Bear Valley Trail at Point Reyes Station, similar to forest management.

Orange light falls on thick underbrush on the forest floor as the Woodward Fire burns along Bear Valley Trail in Point Reyes Station, serving somewhat like a controlled burn as a form of forest management.