Efforts Begin to Return Life to Devastated Scenic Park

The wind-whipped fire that struck the northern San Fernando Valley on Friday blackened almost all of the 714-acre O’Melveny Park, and experts said it may take years before it again offers hikers a pristine combination of natural vegetation and mountainous terrain.

“Most of the park is burned up,” said Don Mullally, on-site manager and senior gardener at the second largest city-owned park. “People used to come here for the scenic beauty of the grassy meadows and the trails through the natural brush. It was probably the most beautiful park in the city up until the fire.

“It is all pretty ugly right now.”

While the smell of smoke remained in the air and damage to the park was still being assessed Monday, authorities were beginning to study environmental destruction throughout the 3,200-acre burn area.

Ground Cover Studied

This week, foresters and soil experts will determine where they need to plant fast-growing rye seed on burned hillsides, providing quick soil cover to help avoid flooding and mudslides in case of heavy winter rains.

Fanned by Santa Ana winds of up to 70 m.p.h., the brush fire charged from Granada Hills to Porter Ranch early Friday, damaging or destroying 40 homes, before heading north into the Santa Susana Mountains, where it was extinguished Saturday.

In O’Melveny Park, above Granada Hills near where the fire started, it burned an estimated 700 acres of natural chaparral and other vegetation, Mullally said. Only the park’s entrance area and some grassland at the bottom of Bee Canyon were spared, he said.

As he surveyed the park’s fire damage--which also included the destruction of a historic barn, an equipment building and a truck--Mullally was still able to find cause for optimism Monday.

He said the fire moved so quickly across the hills that, for the most part, only ground vegetation was destroyed, leaving many of the park’s trees, such as native walnut and pine, with blackened trunks but alive. The burned brush will also provide rich fertilization, which will mean more wildflowers on the hillsides and along hiking trails than before, he added.

Time for New Growth

The negative factor is time, said Mullally, who has worked at the park 6 years and plans to retire in 2 more. He and other experts said it may take more than 3 years for the chaparral and other vegetation to grow back completely.

“It will all come back; it will just take time,” he said. “No species of vegetation will disappear. After 6 or 7 years, you won’t be able to tell it burned.”

In the burn area outside the park, county, state and federal officials have begun to assess damage on the slopes of the Santa Susana Mountains. Through ground and air inspections this week, they will determine where to grow rye grass, said John Haggenmiller, senior deputy forester for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Rye seed germinates quickly and can provide soil cover within a month, while the re-growth of natural brush can take several months, authorities said.

The use of rye grass to provide quick soil cover after a brush fire is under study by the California Department of Forestry. Some environmentalists say it hinders the return of natural chaparral and becomes a better fire fuel.

Use of Rye Grass

But county officials said it will probably be used as needed to avoid the danger of flooding and mudslides.

“You want a quick cover on the soil,” said Joe Ferrara, head deputy forester with the county Fire Department. “The rye grass holds the soil in place. It’s a barrier. It will hold the water from going down and keep the mud out of the back yards of homes.”

Officials said that with soil exposed in the foothills, an intense rain of 2 inches or more could cause flooding and mud problems below.

“There is no cover up there,” said Capt. Scott Franklin, the county Fire Department’s vegetation management officer. “If we get high-intensity rains, that could cause some damage.”

“Flooding and mud and debris and ash will all come flowing down,” Haggenmiller said.

Although there are drainage washes in populated areas that could normally handle such runoff, some structures at the bottom of canyons could be endangered, Haggenmiller said.

Lack of Rain

Ironically, while rain could be a problem until vegetation is back in the burn area, the lack of rain continues to be a hazard throughout the county, Franklin said.

“Until we get some rain, we are in a super-critical fire situation,” he said. “There is no moisture in the chaparral.”

Authorities said Monday that the cause of Friday’s fire, which started near the Sunshine Canyon Landfill north of O’Melveny Park, remained unknown.

Battalion Chief Gary Bowie, head of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s arson squad, said investigators had spoken to one of two men sought for questioning. He declined to name the man or disclose what he said. He stressed that the men are not arson suspects.

“Investigators are still following up several leads,” said Bowie, who noted that a cause may not be known for several days. He also declined to disclose the exact starting point of the fire.