Record-breaking heat destroys California poppies at state reserve

Dan Shedd of Atlanta and girlfriend Virginia Keckler of Gardners, Pa., photograph some of the last remaining poppies at the California Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

March 17, 2015 2:29 PM PT

A string of hot days and record-breaking heat have destroyed a large bloom of poppies at the California Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley.

A couple walk the poppy less trails at the California Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The weekend’s unseasonable record heat has prematurely cooked most of the color right out of the annual blooms of California poppies at the California Poppy Reserve. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Much of the colorful hillside a now void of rich orange color. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Isabel Rodriguez of Palmdale finds a patch of poppies along Lancaster Road leading into the Poppy Reserve. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Last weekend’s unseasonable record heat has prematurely cooked most of the color right out of most of the annual blooms. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The weekend’s unseasonable record heat has prematurely cooked most of the color right out of most of the annual blooms of California poppies in the California Poppy Reserve. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Jose Grundler of Lake Hughes finds a patch of poppies along the roadside. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the trails are bare of poppies but still have plenty of other flowers. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)