Ravages of previous wildfires linger
Time is supposed to heal all wounds, but when it’s personal, time can make those wounds hurt even more.
A review of five major wildfires in the Bay Area and Northern California — which vanquished parks, recreation lands, and often neighboring homes — shows the recovery can sometimes be quick. Sometimes not.
In the long run, what can be more difficult to live with is that the people responsible for wildfires are rarely charged, convicted and punished. Of the five landmark fires I reviewed, a charge and conviction was made in only one, the Lick Fire in 2007 that burned Henry W. Coe State Park.
Each recovery is unique, based on the heat of the fire and the type of habitat and its ability to regenerate. Over the years, I’ve returned to the sites many times to see how the major fires impacted parks and recreation lands.
Morgan Fire, 2013, Contra Costa County
The location and threat of the Morgan Fire made it big news: Mount Diablo State Park, edged by several cities. The fire burned from Morgan Territory Road and up the canyon on the east flank of Diablo and to each of the mountain’s twin summits. Some areas, like the Muir Picnic Site, were incinerated. Damage: 3,100 acres; 100 homes threatened, none lost. Cause/charges: The fire ignited from a spark from a bullet strike on rock during target shooting on private property; no charges. The future: On the drive up to the summit, you can see sharp interfaces between areas that burned and areas that did not. Even in burned areas, the grasslands rebound within three to five years with good wildflower blooms. It can take five years or more for low-lying plants to get re-established, longer for young trees. At the Mary Bowerman Trail on the Diablo Summit, arcs in a halfcircle beneath the summit emerge in and out of burned bushes and trees, and those untouched. It will be 10, 15 years before the scars are healed.
Rim Fire, 2013, Tuolumne County
From the Rim of the World Vista Point along Highway 120, located east of Groveland on a route to Yosemite, everything in your scope of view (and beyond) burned, a total of 402 square miles. Mountain
slopes once cloaked by manzanita, chemise and other chaparral were rendered into moonscapes. Slopes filled with pines, cedars and firs, once a sea of conifers, were burned to a blackened crisp. Damage: 257,314 acres, mostly in Stanislaus National Forest; 1 billion board feet of lumber lost; destroyed 11 homes, 3 commercial buildings, 98 other structures. Cause/charges: Illegal campfire identified near confluence of Clavey and Tuolumne rivers. A suspect was identified and charged; in the delay waiting for the case to come to trial, two witnesses died, and prosecutors then dropped the case. The future: Amid the burn zone, firefighters protect the Cherry Lake Campground and pockets of gorgeous pine forests. In the river corridors, riparian habitats along the Tuolumne River and Cherry Creek are untouched. This past summer, bracken ferns, grass and wildflowers emerged in charred soils beneath tree skeletons. Exposed slopes where dry chemise and manzanita were incinerated remain largely barren. Salvage logging has been active in the region. It will be five years before grasslands, wildflowers and ferns are re-established and 10 years for willows and cottonwoods; it will take 30 years for pine tree colonies to emerge intact.
Angora Fire, 2007, El Dorado County
Angora Ridge is located above Fallen Leaf Lake near South Lake Tahoe, a popular site. It looks so strange now, with high-end mountain homes being built amid burned-out forest and a largely still-charred landscape. Damage: 3,100 acres; destroyed 242 residences, 67 commercial structures; damaged 35 other homes. Cause/charges: An illegal campfire was traced to an area near Seneca Pond. No arrests made or charges filed. The future: The timeline for mixed conifer forests is for trees to grow less than a foot per year. In 20 years, they will be 15 to 20 feet, and the area will again look like a forest. A ponderosa pine can live 600 years.
Lick Fire, 2007, Santa Clara County
The vast wilderness at Henry W. Coe State Park east of Gilroy turned into a nomadic inferno. After the fire, the hills were blackened with the skeletons of bushes and willows. Damage: 47,760 acres, Henry W. Coe State Park. Cause/charges: Ignition was traced to an unattended burn barrel on private property outside the park. The woman responsible was convicted and sentenced, with $200,000 in restitution to owners of burned cabins, 250 hours of community service and three years’ probation. The future: The landscape at Henry Coe consists of what is called a blue oak savannah, foothill grasslands and canyons peppered with willows and oaks. In most cases, oaks were burned at the base but survived the event. Sprouting grasses, plants and bushes regenerated the hills. In most sites, it is difficult to see remnants of the fire. Though wildflower blooms were muted in the spring for two or three years, the past two, post-drought, have been excellent. Wildlife numbers, for deer, squirrels and songbirds, have increased at roughly the same rates as plant regeneration.
Mount Vision Fire, 1995, Marin County
The Mount Vision Fire put Point Reyes National Seashore and nearby residents at risk. The smoke plume from Inverness Ridge looked like somebody had detonated a bomb. The fire burned much of the west-facing flank of the park, blackening the hills for miles down to the ocean; burned old-growth Bishop Pine on the ridge, and also extended into nearby communities bordering the park. Damage: 12,354 acres; destroyed 45 homes. Cause/charges: Ignition was traced to an illegal campfire set by four juveniles; authorities never named them or provided any official details regarding their fate and penalties. One ranger told me they all did significant community service. The future: The landscape evolved over 10 years to where the hills were again filled with fresh grass, vegetation and, in the spring, excellent wildflower blooms. One of the best trails to get a scope of the rebirth of the fire zone is Woodward Trail, which connects from the Coast Trail (near Coast Camp) to Sky Trail. Even now, 22 years later, you can find remnants of skeletons of old-growth pines amid their offspring. For the most part, the park looks mostly untouched again. For this landscape, it took 20 years to get there.