Parks reopen after fire

Bikers and hikers saw little but a charred landscape when they were allowed to return to the local parks following last month’s fire, but rangers say wildfire is part of a nature’s cycle and that the wildlife and plant life will return.

In the aftermath of the Topanga Fire that burned over 24,000 acres of public parkland recently, national, state and local park officials announced at a press conference last week that public lands throughout the region have reopened to the public.

But because the landscape has changed, certain park rules have been altered to help the land recover, officials said.

“People can come back. It’s going to be beautiful but different,” said Charles Taylor, chief of external affairs with the National Park Service (NPS), who encouraged visitors to obey the new rules.

Visitors are required to stay on the trails and motorized vehicles are prohibited because the burned areas are susceptible to erosion, officials said. The parks will be closed from dusk to dawn and officials plan to have more rangers on site to enforce park policies, implemented to help nature rejuvenate.

The rules apply to Cheeseboro Canyon, Palo Comado Canyon, Liberty Canyon and Upper Las Virgenes Canyon open space preserve sites.

Lone oak trees dot the charred ground at the end of Palo Comado Canyon in Agoura Hills, but the local wildlife is safe and animals are returning, said Ray Sauvajot, an ecologist for the NPS.

The wildlife includes mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, mule deer, gray foxes, badgers and about 15 species of small animals, including rodents, rabbits and a variety of reptiles and birds.

Fortunately, only a few large animals succumbed to the flames and the smaller mammals have a fast reproduction rate, Sauvajot said.

Two mountain lions living in the area, who were monitored by the NPS, died last fall because they ingested prey with anticoagulants in their system, but other lions not collared with a radio system may have survived. Several mountain lions also live south of the 101 Freeway, but the fire did not affect them, officials said.

Plant life will also recover, park officials said. The fire left patches of vegetation that will germinate surrounding areas and provide food and shelter for animals.

“As long as the rains are moderate, new seeds will germinate, but hard rains could be a problem,” said Woody Smeck, superintendent for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

The area within the fire’s perimeter has burned five times since 1982, Smeck said.

Until the new vegetation takes root, officials are bracing for possible flooding. They’re working with the Ventura County Watershed Protection District to stabilize the charred slopes. Officials say they will seek federal funds to pay for the rehabilitation of the affected areas.

Joseph Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the agency that manages Ahmanson Ranch, believes the endangered red-legged frog and the San Fernando Valley spineflower survived despite the blaze, which burned all of Ahmanson Ranch.

Several historical structures were also saved, according to Edmiston, who said fire-fighters were joined in their effort by crews from the state and national parks.