When a devastating Jan. 7 wildfire burned through the natural canyons above Altadena, land was charred and left denuded, but worse than that, the spring storm surge unloosed boulders and sediment that washed away trails and creek beds.
But naturalists say there is a silver lining to all this fire, even one attached to those mammoth sediment and boulder flows.
At the Rubio Canyon Preserve, storm surges pushed away 100 cubic yards of dirt that was burying the historic Maidenhair Waterfall since a 2004 mountain landslide, essentially bringing it back from the grave.
“That storm flow was so great it unburied that waterfall, which is about 12 to 15 feet high,” said Sean Green, co-leader of the Rubio Canyon Trail Crew on Dec. 10. He said the upper portion of this 41-acre preserve where the waterfall has come back to life has lots of water from a spring deluge and more consistent November rains.
A waterfall coming back to life after 21 years is just one example of how fire and floods in nature can rejuvenate the land.
Pollution, nature concerns remain
However, when the Eaton fire tore through homes in Pasadena and mostly in Altadena, there is no silver lining — leaving only ashes, destruction of 9,414 structures and 19 lives in its wake. Many who want to come back are concerned about the loss of the urban tree canopy that provided shade to this older community.
Along the coast, the Palisades fire took 12 lives, and destroyed 6,837 homes and commercial structures in iconic neighborhoods of the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and unincorporated Sunset Mesa and Topanga. Though debris clearance went amazingly fast, those charred pieces of homes, toxic electric car batteries and other chemical waste washed into the Pacific Ocean.
Still, testing from 10 collection sites along the length of Santa Monica Bay immediately after the fires showed “water quality at L.A.’s beaches was much better than expected, diminishing fears about human health impacts from polluted runoff in fire-scarred areas,” according to a statement from Heal the Bay, a local oceans watchdog nonprofit. The statement was released on March 27.
In May, the nonprofit said nothing changed, meaning the water quality didn’t get worse. In fact, the water tested well below an EPA risk threshold for water recreation, explained Annelisa Ehret Moe, associate director of science and policy for Heal the Bay on Dec. 15.
Results from new ocean water samples taken in October, November and early December may take weeks to return from its laboratory partners, she said. Right now, the risk to humans is very low, she said.
Heal the Bay was concerned about marine mammals and fish experiencing “elevated levels” of such chemicals as beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel, lead … silver, arsenic and zinc” that were above average marine-health limits in the first few months after the fires. But more research needs to be done on whether toxic metals are entering the food chain of fish and marine mammals, such as dolphins.
While concerns remain, Third District L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose area includes the burn areas along the coast, said the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors pronounced the beaches near the fire zones as safe last month.
“People can now go on those beaches. They are permitted,” said Horvath in an interview on Dec. 11.
Rejuvenating canyons, trails, parks
While exactly how new infrastructure will improve the rebuilding of homes along the coast remains a question, Will Rogers State Historic Park re-opening to the public on Nov. 8 was a milestone, as well as a sign of resilience for the region.
In Altadena, the recent rebuilding of Loma Alta Park has brought the community a small light shining through the darkness. Also, the donation of $5 million from Walt Disney Co. to rebuild Charles White Park is another example of manmade parks coming back to life.
“Water is seeping into the soil and feeding these very thirsty trees, so I’m cautiously optimistic. All we have to do is get through the next few months,” — Cristhian Mace, natural areas biologist for L.A. County
Likewise, those who’ve combed through the surrounding natural areas, such as Rubio, Eaton and Millard canyons adjacent to Pasadena and Altadena, can point to green sprouts from charred stumps, native and non-native plants re-bounding in bunches, and wildlife such as birds, lizards, bees, coyotes, mountain lions and even bears seen again populating the once blackened canyons.
In Eaton, humans will add to nature
The closed, 198-acre Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park in Altadena, one of the most popular parks in L.A. County for nature-starved humans, will get a boost from the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation. They are planning to install a Landscape Recovery Center in the overflow parking area that will include: a native garden, a tree-grow yard, demonstration gardens and outdoor classrooms, explained Cristhian Mace, natural areas biologist for L.A. County.
Mace and her team will be helping plant trees grown from a seed library with seeds taken pre-fire from Eaton Canyon. The re-planting will take place in the park’s upper plateau, where people enter the park. The effort also includes replacing burned-out infrastructure with new bathrooms, picnic areas and a new Eaton Canyon Nature Center, all destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
“Mother Nature has her own plans,” Mace said.
In the more than 11 months since the Jan. 7 Eaton fire, she’s seen so much re-growth in the park that a lot of what the county will do is just get out of the way.
“I can count on two hands how many trees we lost in Eaton Canyon,” Mace said on Nov. 19. “About 85% to 90% of oak and sycamore trees survived.”
New rains in November have sped up the recovery, watering new shoots from trees and growing new, smaller plants.
“Water is seeping into the soil and feeding these very thirsty trees, so I’m cautiously optimistic. All we have to do is get through the next few months,” she said.
Speaking of new plants, the fire cracked open buried seeds, causing species to sprout that haven’t been seen in decades. So-called fire followers include: laurel sumac and elderberry sprouting from burnt stumps. Also, a display of purple phacelia grandiflora were seen in April and May, including seven related species that botanists had to search the records books to find the last time they were here — if ever.
A succession of new plant coverage is taking root, literally grabbing the slopes tight. Roots also provide microbes like fungi as food for animals. Some plants fix nitrogen into the soil, known as legumes.
The downside is that nature casts a wide net.
It allows invasive plants, including mustard, caster bean and tree tobacco plants, to return. These choke out native plants and suck up too much water. So teams are removing them by hand, Mace said.
Where do these invasive plants come from?
Some seeds encroach into the park from neighbors’ ornamental landscaping and gardens. Others get trapped in the car tires of visitors or on their clothes. Many are washed into the park from the Angeles National Forest to the north, where more non-native plants, such as mustard with its yellow flowers, have invaded, Mace said.
Conservancy repairing trails
Tim Martinez, land manager for the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy, pointed out native, fire-followers on the slopes of the conservancy’s 41-acre Rubio Canyon Preserve. The Conservancy bought this land in 2011 to preserve nature, prevent development, and help wildlife move along the foothills and into the Angeles National Forest on the north end.
On Dec. 12, Martinez stopped at a coyote bush, its puffy, white flowers caught in a wind gust sending white seeds floating down the canyon. “This is an example of rejuvenation — of what the fire did naturally. See this, this is all fresh, a rejuvenated coyote bush,” he said during a tour of the preserve’s lower canyon.
Others, like a wild cucumber plant, came to life after the Eaton fire, he said. Several older buckwheat plants showed new life, bursting with tiny flowers. “The roots of this buckwheat plant are holding up these mountains,” he said.
Later, he pointed to deer tracks following newly restored portions of the trail that had been wiped out by the storm surge.
All-volunteer trail restoration crews have been hard at work restoring the Loma Alta Trail on the preserve since April. Both deer and soon, hikers when the trail reopens, will use the rebuilt trail with new steps and retaining walls to hold back any slides. A retaining wall is installed with wire fencing and tree posts built into the mountain, then backfilled, Green explained.
“We figure around February we will have the lower loop trails in really good shape,” Green said of his trail repair crew. Repairing trail damage in the upper portion will take several more months of hard work. “There are steeper trails there so it is harder to fix,” he explained.
The Conservancy used a $40,000 grant from LA County to make these deep repairs, amounting to a 100-foot section of the Loma Alta Trail. This trail is key because it connects with the Altadena Crest Trail, an east-west trail stretching to Loma Alta Park.
What about the wildlife?
Folks in Altadena and Pasadena love to talk about what wildlife they’ve seen. Many say the coyotes are fat and thriving. Some motion-sensor cameras have captured deer, bears, mountain lions and gray foxes.
Many are seen in the Conservancy’s 13-acre Millard Canyon Preserve, which was untouched by the recent wildfires. The healthy habitat has attracted these and other mammals, kind of like a shelter from the fire.
“The wildlife has come into those areas like a refuge for them,” said Natasha Khanna-Dang, the Conservancy’s urban conservation biologist. “There are a lot of plants not burned. They’ll use them for resources,” she said, including as food or for shade during the hotter days.
A Merriam’s chipmunk was reported in Rubio Canyon since the fire, as was a western gray squirrel. Both are not often found in these lower canyons, Khanna-Dang said. “It’s a good sign we are seeing them here,” she added.
She and a colleague in April did a survey of bumble bees in Rubio Canyon and found a large number. “There were a lot of bees there and they loved it, just hanging out on the native vegetation,” said Khanna-Dang. Again, another sign of a healthier habitat.
Meanwhile, back at Eaton Canyon Natural Park, Mace said she can’t help notice evidence of so many wild animals using the space.
“The wildlife seem to be rising. Every time I go to the park I see so many deer. Plus, I see tracks from black bears and coyote, fox, deer and rabbits. And the fence lizards are doing push-ups on the rocks. They are making use of a people-free space,” Mace said.
When she goes into the park, she recognized the song of a red-shouldered hawk singing. “Pre-fire I was at Eaton Canyon and I’d hear the hawk screaming overhead. Now I hear that same red-shouldered hawk,” Mace said.
Other birds visiting the park include: American kestrels and Cooper’s hawks, she said. “All the big raptors are present,” she said, along with smaller birds such as white-crowned sparrows and California towhees.
The biggest challenge is not bringing the wild plants or wildlife back. It is rebuilding the manmade structures. The cost to rebuild the Eaton Canyon Nature Center is $19 million, the county reported. County has hired designers to configure the new building and most likely it will be in a different spot within the county park.
The nature center, a popular place for lectures and for en plein air painters, was destroyed by embers landing on the roof and blown into the windows. The first nature center building burned in 1993 in the Kinneloa Fire. The new center opened in 1998.
“Let’s hope it does not take five years before we are celebrating the new nature center,” Mace said.
