Controlled Burn Kills Off Nonnative Plants

A controlled burn conducted in the Malibu Creek State Park area Tuesday morning cleared away about 80 acres of brush and exotic plants to enable the native vegetation to thrive, officials said.

More than 50 firefighters from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the National Park Service and the California Conservation Corps were on hand to control the fire. And they are expected, weather permitting, to be out again today.

Suzanne Goode, associate resource ecologist with the state Department of Parks and Recreation, said the second day of the 120-acre prescribed burn should be easier.

“We already have a black line between us and the city of Calabasas. We burned the northern end where the residents are,” she said, although the nearest homes are more than a half-mile from the site.

Goode said she was unaware of any residents expressing concern about the burn, although near the end of the operation, a strong gust blew smoke toward the homes.

“People shouldn’t notice as much smoke on Wednesday,” she said. “We’ll be away from the houses.”

Barring Santa Ana winds and hot weather, the burn will continue for the remaining 40 acres at 8:30 this morning and end within two hours, Goode said.

The purpose of the burn was to “allow the fire to play its natural role in the ecosystem,” said spokeswoman Jean Bray of the National Park Service.

The land, before it was national parkland, was used for a variety of purposes, and exotic vegetation, weeds and thistle sprouted up and endangered the native plants. The parks department had planted native grasses and oak trees in recent years. Now that the trees are strong enough to withstand fire, the department will work to eradicate the nonnative plants.

“We want to burn the area a little more often to kill off the weed seeds and encourage native plants to take hold,” Goode said. “And with the native grasses, we’d invigorate wildlife and make it more pleasing to park visitors.”