Vicious cycle of frequent fires is remaking Southern California's ecology

Chaparral and coastal sage have less time to grow back between blazes, clearing the way for flammable nonnative plants.
By Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 2, 2008
» Discuss Article    (220 Comments)

Jon Keeley is standing on a dirt road in western Riverside County, looking out across the Box Springs Mountains. Instead of a thick coat of native shrubs, the slopes are covered with a shriveled tangle of mustard, wild oats and red brome.

Too much fire is the culprit.

 
Since 1957, there have been 33 fires larger than 100 acres in the Box Springs -- more than the area's native coastal sage and chaparral could withstand.

"Scenes like this you can see all over Southern California," says Keeley, a research scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chaparral is accustomed to intense, periodic wildfire. But as Southern California's population has increased, so has the frequency of wildfires, most of which are caused by people. Shrub lands that used to burn every 50 to 150 years on the coast and every 30 to 100 years inland are burning far more frequently in some areas.
Big Burn
The Times' five-part series explores the growth and cost of wildfires.
The chaparral and coastal sage don't have time to regrow before the next inferno. Hillsides turn into ugly outposts of invasive weeds.

The transformation is impoverishing the biological community. Some species, such as coyotes, will do fine. Those that need a more complex habitat, such as bobcats and the coast horned lizard, won't.

"We can go to places that are invasive grasslands now that are missing a lot of species," said Robert Fisher, a USGS research biologist in San Diego.

The change in vegetation extends the fire season because many invasive plants burn virtually year-round. Toss a cigarette into a stand of coastal sage in June and in most years it won't ignite. Do the same to a bed of red brome and it will.

And grasses don't hold the soil or water as well as deep-rooted shrubs, leaving hillsides more prone to landslides and erosion.

In time, Keeley said, most of Southern California's wildlands could look like the Box Springs Mountains, largely bereft of their signature stands of chamise, manzanita and California buckwheat.

"We could lose it all."

bettina.boxall@latimes.com




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Share your thoughts on the Big Burn series.
 
1. I dont understand how you can say that the air tankers do not help at all. If they were to no help, they would not use them! If there was no such thing as CNN, guess what, they would STILL drop their loads. The whole reason for them is to create a fire line, and yes, sometimes it doesnt work, but when it does, then its done its job. Im so tired of everybody thinking everything has to do with politics...
Submitted by: Austin
6:52 AM PDT, Sep 13, 2008
 
2. In areas where there is federal insurance, the feds should stop writing insurance and write puts instead. Then, if a property burns (or floods, in the Mississippi River valley) the property owner exercises the put, making the government buy the property at the put price. Then the government, now the owner of the property, can turn it into forest land or similar public land.
Submitted by: zxdfmlp
4:54 PM PDT, Aug 31, 2008
 
3. Able-bodied homeowners who have created defensible space around their homes should emulate the successful Australian strategy of Prepare, Stay, and Defend. The Australians have learned that people protect homes and homes protect people. Some communities in Montana and California are already implementing this practice of Go Early or Stay and Defend.
Submitted by: Bob Mutch, FireSafe Montana
11:18 AM PDT, Aug 26, 2008
 
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