Limestone Canyon preserve healing from fire
Hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians and nature enthusiasts of all types are being welcomed back to the Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve, more than a year after back-to-back fires delivered a blow to the geological landmark.
On Saturday, Orange County Parks, which manages Limestone Canyon, hosted the first Wilderness Access Day in the canyon since 2020. Docent-led events are staged to protect the area's sensitive habitats.
The canyon, which is north of the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, was closed after the Silverado and Bond fires blazed through thousands of acres to allow time for the natural vegetation to grow back in and to ensure a rest period for wildlife, said officials with OC Parks and the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which is helping with the canyon's restoration. Signs and other infrastructure also had to be rebuilt after the fires.
“We now feel that the situation has sufficiently improved to handle the impacts of public activities,” Nathan Gregory, vice president and chief program officer of Irvine Ranch Conservancy, said. “And we are excited to host the community out on the land once again.”
The Silverado fire delivered the first blow in October 2020, burning a total of 13,398 acres, including 5,600 acres in Limestone.
Officials initially were heartened after discovering some patches of land were spared from the ravages of the fire, said John Gump, OC Parks operations manager.
But then the Bond fire was sparked Dec. 2, 2020, burning 6,686 acres, including 2,700 in Limestone.
“We thought it could have been worse, but that was before the Bond fire came through and overlapped into some of the same area and got some of that remaining habitat, so it was a pretty comprehensive fire and fairly devastating to the stability, as well as the infrastructure,” Gump said.
Fire-resistant materials were used to replace the
West Sinks viewing deck that was burned; new trail signage was constructed and new cameras were installed.
And once the vegetation is burned away from a hillside, Gump said people might not realize the work that has to happen to manage the erosion that can occur.
Trails had to be restored after the damage caused by the bulldozers and heavy equipment used to establish containment lines to fight the fires, Gregory said.
Large-scale habitat restoration projects that involved seeding and planting also took place.
The lack of significant rain over the past year prolonged the time needed for some of the vegetation to grow back and create cover for the wildlife, Gump said.
On the upside, “We didn't see a lot of loss of some of our larger oak trees,” Gump said. “We didn't observe a lot of obvious signs of wildlife mortality.”
Wildlife typically found in the canyon includes mountain lions, deer, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks, snakes, lizards, ground squirrels and varieties of birds, he said.
Fire prevention is the No. 1 priority in maintenance of the canyon, Gregory said.
Officials work with the Orange County Fire Authority to identify areas that need to be protected should a fire occur, he said.
Road systems are maintained to enable access for equipment when an event happens.
But what is most critical, said Gregory, is the deployment of the Orange County Fire Watch Network's volunteers in strategic areas during red-flag conditions, which are issued by the National Weather Service during periods of low humidity, high temperatures and high winds.
Fire watch volunteers are trained to be on the lookout for arson activity and educate the public about fire danger.
“That kind of early warning, ignition prevention side of it is really the best thing that we can do,” Gregory said.