More than $540K raised for Big Basin Redwoods State Park’s fire recovery

Sempervirens Fund and Save the Redwoods League collectively raised the money to assist state parks in fire recovery efforts

SANTA CRUZ >> Big Basin, California’s oldest state park and gatekeeper of iconic redwood giants, will receive more than half-million dollars to put to fire recovery efforts. The donation to California State Parks was sourced collectively through the Save the Redwoods League and Sempervirens Fund.

More than 86,500 acres across Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties burned in the CZU August Lightning Complex fire. Flames descended upon Big Basin State Park and burned the park headquarters along with other historic buildings.

At large, 97% of Big Basin’s 18,224 acres were impacted by the CZU Complex fire, according to Gabe McKenna, public superintendent for California State Parks Santa Cruz district.

“It’s just kind of hard to come to terms with,” McKenna said. “Seeing that much destruction and devastation that the fire caused, and knowing how much people care about the park… it’s not an easy thing to see.”

Campg round s, pa rk housing and an interpretive nature center were also lost. Nearly 100 structures total throughout the park burned.

McKenna said while the park’s beloved redwoods are fire-adaptive, and can often survive through a blaze, Douglas fir, Tan Oak, and underbrush took a hit.

The extent of the fire’s impact to the forest remains to be seen, though. Monitor ing how redwoods and other trees fare through winter rains will be crucial.

As part of prepping the fire-damaged park for winter, state parks will utilize the Save the Redwoods League and Sempervirens Fund donation. The organizations disbursed $200,000 on Tuesday to the agency — that first check of the more than $540,000 collective recovery fund will assist state parks in removing dead and hazardous trees.

McKenna stressed that California State Parks environmental scientists are on the ground now conducting thorough tree surveys.

“We will only remove trees that pose a safety risk and that could fall in the near future,” McKenna said. “We don’t want to cut trees we don’t have to.”

If left as is, some of those trees are at-risk of falling across Highway 236.

Having the funds to complete this phase of the work now, before winter rains come is crucial, McKenna said. And it won’t be until after the rainy season that state parks gets a fuller picture of just how much damage the fire inflicted on Big Basin’s forest scape.

Additionally, there’s a heightened risk of debris flows in fire-scarred areas.

“Our longer-term planning is in its infancy,” McKenna said. “We want to get

through the rainy season, assess if there’s damages that occurred this winter, and then continue with longer-term planning and solutions.”

Park employees still haven’t been able to gain access to remote backcountry areas of the forest. At this point, McKenna said, there’s no set timeframe for when Big Basin would reopen to the public.

There are signs of recovery occurring naturally,

though.

Green new g row t h sprouting from redwoods gives McKenna and others hope, he said, along with Save the Redwoods League and Sempervirens Fund donors who showed their support from across the world.

“The money really shows the public’s care and appreciation of Big Basin and how much the park means to people near and far,” McKenna said.

SHMUEL THALER — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL The chimney and fireplace are all that remain of Park Headquarters at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

A burned bench sits near the site of the Nature Lodge Museum and Store at Big Basin Redwoods State Park where almost all the structures were destroyed, and thousands of trees burned.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park was severely damaged by the CZU August Lightning Complex.