Fire anniversary: Sonoma parks see the forest for the trees

Parks officials now see wildfire as simply ‘part of the landscape.’|

It is hard to imagine all that has changed in the past year and for our local parks, this is especially true. Some of the jewels of Sonoma, our parks offer acre upon acre of rolling hills and deep valleys that sweep through dense forest, over burbling streams and past golden meadows. Whether hiking, biking camping or stargazing, we expect our sacred spots to remain as such - pristine, unscathed, open, free. Until wildfire changed everything last October.

A year later, a slow but steady rebirth is taking place. Our recent gentle rain brought new grasses that have begun to carpet the hillsides in green, a breathtaking profusion of wildflowers poked from the ground this past spring and new growth is sprouting at the base of trees - Oak, Bay and Manzanita among them.

It may be difficult to notice the changes close to town with the trails at popular Bartholomew Park still closed due to the fires and the Overlook Trail currently closed for maintenance.

According to Scott Clyde, general manager of the Bartholomew Foundation, which owns and operates “Bart Park,” crews are making steady progress and “the plan is to reopen the trails in spring of 2019.”

Further up the Valley, Richard Dale, executive director of the Sonoma Ecology Center, is excited about what he’s seeing at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, which is operated by the Ecology Center.

“The park looks really good,” said Dale. “We’re seeing a lot of re-sprouting with the chapparal coming back strong and hundreds of Manzanita seedlings per acre popping up versus the one or two per acre that we’ve normally seen.”

Dale described the fire’s path through the park in great detail noting that, if it had been a prescribed burn, the fire “moved the way we would have wanted it to” and was generally beneficial – to the park, at least.

“Fire is part of the landscape here and, as such, the landscape and the animals are used to it,” said Dale, as he makes mention of last year’s time-lapse video of a tree burning in the park and animals casually strolling past, not a care in the world.

That said, not all of the park was as lucky. John Roney is the Sugarloaf Ridge State Park manager. Roney is credited with helping evacuate people who were camped in the park as well as residents on Adobe Canyon Road on the night the fires broke out last Oct. 8. He watched as the fire hungrily gobbled fuel in its path leaving crews and volunteers with lots of clean up and rebuilding.

“After the fire we had 15 to 20 miles of trail to clear including more than 50 trees that needed to be cut and hauled,” Roney said. “There were six bridges and puncheons to either repair or rebuild as well as 50 stairs. Plus, two entire miles of trail had to completely rebuilt.”

This points to some of the areas that Dale notes burned far hotter than others.

“Each area had its own kind of fire that was either gentle and beneficial or hot and destructive and where we saw a lot of gray ash left behind,” said Dale. “In some places the fire burned up the poison ivy and blackberry which is a big plus. All in all, I feel really good about the landscape and what we’ve learned.”

Dale says he’s confident there will be a fully closed canopy in about 10 years’ time.

“It may be different than what was there previously, but the park will make a relatively full recovery,” said Dale.

That isn’t to say that all the danger is past. Dale said that heavy rains are still a concern.

“We’ve learned that often, the second year after a big fire can be worse for holding onto soil,” he said. “If some of the deeper tree roots have in fact died, we might see runoff and landslides that clog creeks and bring a higher risk of flooding. Only time will tell.”

In the meantime, go take a hike. Both Roney and Dale are excited about the land’s recovery. Roney points to the scores of volunteers who helped get the park reopened. “We had hundreds of volunteers step up. Plus we had grants and donations that totaled around $80,000. If we contracted the rebuilding and repairs out, it would have cost us $400,000 to $500,000,” said Roney. “Revenues are still down, as the park was closed for a few months and the campsites opened later than usual. We need the public’s help. Come visit the park,” said Roney.

Dale adds: “There are scheduled fire hikes on our website. Come with open eyes and an open mind and see how nature is evolving and recovering. It’s amazing to watch.”

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