One-two punch could knock out chaparral
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
Region's distinctive plant community threatened by repeated fire | ∞
Two waves of cataclysmic wildfires in four years have torched one-third of San Diego County's chaparral habitat, fanning fears that the flowery but flammable bushes that dominate the landscape could one day disappear.
"This last set of fires has seriously damaged the integrity of the chaparral systems in San Diego County," said Rick Halsey, an ecologist and director of the Escondido-based California Chaparral Institute and an expert on Southern California's native plant communities.
"We have so little mature chaparral left," Halsey said in an interview last week. "We're just so concerned that it's not coming back."
While no one can predict the future, the increasing frequency of fire, the extended drought and global warming all threaten to wipe out the area's distinctive plant community by the end of this century, Halsey said.
The fire frequency is particularly disturbing.
"It's gradually been increasing over the last century," Halsey said. And he said it has exploded over the last four years.
Rich Minnich, a UC Riverside scientist, said fires in Southern California's chaparral country generally can be expected to consume about 2 percent of the landscape per year. But in 2003 and this year, fires tore through many times more than that, Minnich said.
If the increased fire wipes out stands of chaparral, Halsey said, it would be tragic.
"When you destroy the stuff that most of us enjoy looking at, it destroys our identity," he said. "San Diego County has more chaparral than any other county in the United States."
Halsey said one need not look far to see where the trend could go.
He said the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County used to be covered with a thick carpet of chaparral. But after repeated fire, Halsey said, the lower elevations of those mountains largely have given way to exotic grasses -- plants that burn even more often than the colorful bushes that used to thrive there.
In San Diego County, there are 893,000 acres of chaparral, said Kit Wilson, an environmental, land and computer mapping consultant in Escondido who has mapped the region's plant communities.
After surveying the latest fire information, Wilson on Monday estimated that 133,000 acres of the chaparral burned in last month's blazes. And that followed the torching of 183,000 acres of chaparral in the 2003 firestorms, which included the Cedar, California's largest-ever wildfire, he said.
Wilson said 34,000 acres of the plant community burned in both sets of fires, or 4 percent of the county's chaparral. Even when that amount is subtracted from the 316,000-acre total for the 2003 and 2007 fires, he said, fully 32 percent of the chaparral burned in the two rounds of catastrophic blazes.
Chaparral communities generally are composed of chamise, ceanothus, sugar bush and manzanita. They tend to cloak hillsides in a dark green carpet and paint the land purple, yellow and white with flowers in spring.
But with catastrophic fires occurring more often, ecologists such as Halsey worry that those plants could one day be replaced by nonnative grasses that provide little or no nutrition for wildlife -- and yet burn just as easily in Santa Ana wind-fanned infernos like the ones that ravaged Southern California in October. It was alarming that a significant chunk of the chaparral brush burned twice in four years and may not come back, he said.
Halsey said that's because the new plants need to live 10 years to mature and produce seeds. It is likely that the area that was hit a second time last month did not get showered this time around with fresh seeds and will wind up being transformed into an exotic, unproductive grassland, he said.
If large fires continue to return so quickly, chaparral could begin to disappear, he said. And in those chaparral communities that survive, there may not be time for majestic stands of 15-foot-tall manzanita to become established.
"You'll never get the redwoods of the chaparral," Halsey said of the manzanitas that tend to dominate after a half century of growth.
One of the region's most extensive stands of manzanita giants stood for decades on the northern slopes of Palomar Mountain southeast of Temecula until much of it was destroyed by wildfire a number of years ago. Today, just a few old relics remain, visible along the Dripping Springs Trail in the Agua Tibia Wilderness.
This latest round of fire was particularly destructive for the San Dieguito River Park, a linear park that stretches 55 miles from the coast to the crest of the mountains in the Julian area. Wilson said 80 percent to 90 percent of the chaparral in the river park was reduced to ash.
Halsey said likewise an old patch on the northern slope of Bernardo Mountain overlooking Lake Hodges in Escondido burned.
"It was at least a century old," he said.
-- Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.
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MJ wrote on Nov 12, 2007 10:05 PM:I see a lot of problems described by the naturalists, but no proposed solutions.
Wildfire Fuel wrote on Nov 13, 2007 5:48 AM:Irrigated green belts are needed in these areas. Rain is rare between May and November. Fire needs fuel and oxygen. The Santa Ana winds provide plenty of oxygen. The uncontrolled growth of unirrigated brush provides a near perfect fuel during the fall. Letting the wildfire fuel to grow back is negligent and irresponsible.
So? wrote on Nov 13, 2007 5:50 AM:It's a desert and going to get worse. NOTHING is going to grow here. Wake up. It's over.
BOB wrote on Nov 13, 2007 6:03 AM:The solution is to plant chapparal species in Southern California,instead of exotic invasives. Local nurserys need to sale native stock and local municipalities should encourage the rewilding of our communities.
mother nature wrote on Nov 13, 2007 8:11 AM:I think the days of wasting water so you feel like you live in a tropical paradise is over. Its the desert, start being more responsible and less wasteful.
ICARE wrote on Nov 13, 2007 8:38 AM:ALL THESE 'CONCERNED' FOLKS NEED TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION INSTEAD OF THE CONSTANT CRITICAL COMMENTS AIMED AT THOSE WHO ARE TRYING DOING SOMETHING. I LIKE WHAT BOB SAID ABOUT STAYING WITH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND STOP THE EXOTIC INVASIVES PLANTING.
East County Rats wrote on Nov 13, 2007 8:41 AM:Plant native species and look at the causes of most of the recent fires: powerlines. SDG&E/Sempra aren't doing enough to limit the danger of fire in their lines. Insulate them, bury them, have power generating plants closer to the users (rather than imported power), etc.
How much would wrote on Nov 13, 2007 9:17 AM:be left if the naturally started fires were left to burn? I remember as a kid growing up here I would see fire breaks on the hillsides. Strange things happened like fires were stopped or at least slowed down saving animals, people and chaparral. To bad environmentalist won't allow these fire breaks, nor clearing of dead material in forests. To Them I say, you reap what you sow!
jay wrote on Nov 13, 2007 9:52 AM:If we put in greenbelts, where are we going to get the water to keep them green? We are looking at 30% reduction in available water, meaning that we are going to have trouble keeping what we have green. And embers can still easily sail over a greenbelt and enter houses. People need to look at making their own houses more fire safe, particularly ensuring that embers can't get it. And yes, I know, retrofitting houses isn't easy.
Harry wrote on Nov 13, 2007 11:55 AM:We need to worry about preventing wildfires. If that means all the chaparral is paved over that is fine with me. Stopping fires is the only important requirement.
To Harry wrote on Nov 13, 2007 12:27 PM:Preventing wildfires is unnatural. Fire is normal. Our obsession with "pristine environments" and preservation at all costs does not make for balanced use. If you want pavement, why don't you move to LA? New York? Learn to live in balance.
Enviromentalist Stopping Firebreaks???? wrote on Nov 13, 2007 1:14 PM:I am puzzled, maybe I missed it, but I can not remember one case of enviromentalists stopping a fire break. Maybe it is because fire breaks will not work when the embers are blowing 2 miles away. Maybe a 2.5 mile wide firebreak would do it!!! Don't blame the enviromentalists for the problems that YOU caused. The enviromentalists tried to save you from yourself years ago. Sadly money spoke louder than wisdom and common sense. Wake up and smell the burning chapparal.
To Environmentalist Stopping Firebreaks wrote on Nov 13, 2007 2:33 PM:Puzzeled?? Long ago we very seldom if ever had the fires like the Cedar and Witch Creek. A lot more brush back then then homes. Maybe you should look the history of the area up. You are either to young or trying to blame others. Firebreaks help slow things down also planes in the air like the DC10's at PT. Magoo still with no tanks to fight fires after 4 years.
Amused wrote on Nov 13, 2007 3:17 PM:Maybe we should just sterilize the earth and all live in metal boxes with artificially created oxygen so we dont have to deal with silly scientists or environmentalists. That way we can get all the free unlimited water and gas that we want. Bonus, We wont have to deal with fire either.
To "How Much Would" wrote on Nov 13, 2007 3:27 PM:There is nothing "natural" about wildfires started by downed power lines and arsonists. Forcing SDG&E/Sempra to place its power lines underground would decrease the problem & make our area look better. SoCal doesn't have the water to support irrigated greenbelts, especially since very few municipalities are using reclaimed "gray" water instead of fresh water supplies. Chapparel areas burned by the fires should be replanted with native species - but there may not be enough natural rainfall to re-establish these species. This is a desert - and it's only going to get worse as long as irresponsible government continues to approve unlimited growth & new development.
Escondeeter wrote on Nov 13, 2007 5:28 PM:While it's true that grass and chaparral are equally easy to ignite, grass fires are far easier to deal with than chaparral. They don't burn as hot, the burning material isn't as tall, and the density of fuel is nowhere near as great. Attempts to equate the two are fallacious.
power lines wrote on Nov 13, 2007 8:09 PM:most of the fires started by power lines are caused by lines feeding homes not the transmission lines that move large amounts of power from out of state or between substations. There are improvements that can be made to both types of lines to reduce the chances of them causing fires and these improvements would be far cheaper and cause less environmental damage than putting the lines underground. Steel poles with greater clearances between lines would reduce the chances of wires shorting out during high winds and reduce the number of birds killed from contact with lines during normal conditions. Steel poles would also reduce the number of lines down in the event of a fire and speed up restoration of service.
jay wrote on Nov 13, 2007 8:44 PM:Grass fires move faster and are just as dangerous in their own way. Try driving down I-5. We never go through there that there aren't grass fires all over the place. What about mudslides and disintegrating cliffs? Chaparral knits our hills together and absorbs downpours when they do occur. Grass doesn't.
AHHHHHHHHHH wrote on Nov 13, 2007 9:46 PM:They are WEEEEEEDDDSSSSS!!!!!
Lost cause wrote on Nov 13, 2007 10:39 PM:It's a lost cause. San Diego will get dryer and burn more frequently.
New to Chaparral wrote on Nov 15, 2007 4:33 AM:Thanks for your article. I live in Deerhorn Valley in Jamul in the Chaparral and in some places, there are Oak Trees including the rare Englemann Oak which are so beautiful. When we evacuated late at night, there were no fire trucks anywhere. The orange glow of the fire was close. We lost 25% of the homes, burned to the ground. In places, the fire came through 3 times. We are rural and spread out and parts of the homes on dirt roads never saw a fire truck. Brave guys all over, stayed behind to defend their homes. Many of those took care of our animals that we had to leave behind. We were kept from our homes for 6 days. I love the chaparral even though I've only lived there 20 months. Many do not understand or appreciate the many native plants and they are missing so much. It is an exciting environment to live in. I hate to see it disappear or to be seeded with grass. Our property had many untouched beautiful stands of chaparral and much wildlife. Our pond is dry and so were the plants. I wish more could have been done early on to save our property. This is God's landscaping. I want it left untouched to see how it recovers on its own. Thanks to Rick Halsey for what you're doing to defend it. Contact the Native Plant Society to become more aware of the beauty of San Diego County.
Rick wrote on Nov 18, 2007 9:02 PM:Wildfire Fuel - I am not sure what you mean by "uncontrolled growth of unirrigated brush." Shrubs grow, it is a natural process. The chaparral ecosystem is characterized by dense vegetation. Unless you really mean that we should dramatically alter the backcountry landscape and turn it into a series of irrigated, I think you may be misunderstanding the natural environment of Southern California. So? - Well, we don't live in a desert yet. Averagae annual rainfall ranges from 10 to 20 inches in the lower elevation areas of San Diego County. Anza-Borrego Desert averages less than 5. While climate change may alter these patterns, we can still safely say we live in a semi-arid Mediterranean climate, not a desert. ICARE - Solutions are a good thing. However, the intent of this article was to educate the public about the impact of too many fires on the landscape. It has been brutal. Unfortunately, there are a number of folks who insist we need to let fires burn and not suppress them. Nothing could be worse for the native plant communities we love. You can learn more about this from the California Chaparral Institute's website. How much would - Your memory is fooling you. Large fires have always been part of the landscape in Southern California. Fuel breaks and cleared forests have have little impact on slowing down wind driven fires. Note the Witch Creek fire jumped Interstate 15 as the Cedar fire did in 2003. "Environmentalists," whoever they are, have nothing to do with Santa Ana wind driven fire events. To Harry - Yes, fire is normal, but too many fires is not. While fire suppression has created some unnatural fuel loads in certain forests, that is not the case in Southern California. We need to prevent and suppression as much fire as we can here, otherwise we risk losing the native plant communities we love. Escondeeter - Yes, grass fires are easier to extinguish and control, but that is not the point. The point is that during Santa Ana wind events, grass will carry a fire faster and with more unpredictability than chaparral. Having been is a grass fire that turned ugly, I can tell you it is a frightening experience. Most firefighter fatalities occur in grass fires. When folks want to eliminate chaparral to reduce fire risk in the backcountry, they fail to understand that unless there is a constant effort to control the weeds, the effort will fail to prevent the large, devastating fires like we saw in October. The 2 million acre plus grass fire in Texas/OK during 2005-06 killed a lot of people and burned hundreds of homes. This is why the best way to deal with fire risk is to create fire safe communities, NOT to try and force the environment to adapt to us. Lost Cause - I strongly feel that all of us have the desire to leave behind a better place. It may be buried deeper inside for some than others, but its there. For me, I would like to help others understand the natural environment that surrounds them so they can enjoy life more. The only way that can happen is if we help protect our region's most characteristic wildland, the chaparral. Yes, fire prevention will be difficult, but it is NOT a lost cause. We have the technology to detect ignitions faster. We have the ability to help people better understand fire risk. And we have the potential of changing our cheap ways as San Diego County residents and fund fire protection services at the level we need. It will just take determination and a lot of folks like all of you here to spread the word. Protecting the place in which we live is worth the fight. New to Chaparral - Thanks.
New to Chaparral wrote on Nov 20, 2007 8:05 AM:Thanks for your article. I live in Deerhorn Valley in Jamul in the Chaparral and in some places, there are Oak Trees including the rare Englemann Oak which are so beautiful. When we evacuated late at night, there were no fire trucks anywhere. The orange glow of the fire was close. We lost 25% of the homes, burned to the ground. In places, the fire came through 3 times. We are rural and spread out and parts of the homes on dirt roads never saw a fire truck. Brave guys all over, stayed behind to defend their homes. Many of those took care of our animals that we had to leave behind. We were kept from our homes for 6 days. I love the chaparral even though I've only lived there 20 months. Many do not understand or appreciate the many native plants and they are missing so much. It is an exciting environment to live in. I hate to see it disappear or to be seeded with grass. Our property had many untouched beautiful stands of chaparral and much wildlife. Our pond is dry and so were the plants. I wish more could have been done early on to save our property. This is God's landscaping. I want it left untouched to see how it recovers on its own. Thanks to Rick Halsey for what you're doing to defend it. Contact the Native Plant Society to become more aware of the beauty of San Diego County.
K. Flynn wrote on Feb 15, 2008 7:11 PM:Thanks the NCT for at least bring the plight of the chaparral to the public's attention. I lived here for over twenty years before I ever really stopped to notice it. The chaparral IS Southern California. From a scientific, aesthetic or moral perspective, it is just as worth saving as any other habitat.
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