Fire-scarred park to reopen

Like nervous party hosts, Orange County parks officials unveiled plans Tuesday to reopen badly burned Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park on Saturday after months of laborious prep work.

Potential killer dead trees cleared? Check. Herbicide sprayed on exotic weeds? Check. Tons of debris cleared from trail bottoms? Check. New signs, trail makers and fencing are all in place too.

Now the biggest worry may be the potentially unruly guests.

“We’re finally at a point where we feel it’s safe to reintroduce the public . . . to the park,” said John Gannaway, county parks district supervisor, standing amid charred scrub oak and wildflower blooms on Santiago Ranch trail. “We are urging staying on the trails. The habitat is still quite fragile. It’s fresh and sensitive regrowth.”

October’s Santiago fire, set by an unknown arsonist, roared through 90% of this 4,300-acre wilderness area at Orange County’s rugged eastern edge. Hordes of mountain bikers, horseback riders and hikers are expected to flood back into the park, which attracts about 50,000 people a year.

There are risks to humans as well as nature here. A mountain lion killed a biker and badly mauled another in 2004 on Whiting Ranch’s serpentine trails before being shot dead. Three young mountain lions were photographed two weeks ago in the park by infrared, motion-detecting cameras.

The Santiago blaze did grave damage here, wiping out hundreds of stately, centuries-old live oaks and jump-starting noxious blooms of English mustard and half a dozen thistle species, all aggressive growers that crowd out more delicate native vegetation that rare birds, amphibians and butterflies depend on for forage and shelter.

“I think people are going to be quite surprised by what they see,” Gannaway said. “A lot of the live oaks were left literally as ash skeletons on the ground. And there’s also excellent regrowth.”

Sustained spring rains brought a profusion of wildflowers, some still growing strong in the July heat. Paper-thin, white morning glories, golden yarrow, orange monkey flower, strands of witches’ hair and bright red Indian paintbrush dot hillsides. Scorched, withered prickly pear cactus stands still droop in many patches, but new, green pads are sprouting out of a few. The imperiled cactus wrens that once called the area home have probably moved on to unburned areas, but endangered gnatcatcher songbirds have been heard since the fire.

“You see the devastation as well as the regrowth very clearly,” said Senior Park Ranger Vicky Malton, who hopes visitors will stick to established trails. “We are worried. People being curious when they see a deer and hiking off into the brush can be very damaging.”

Despite last fall’s blaze, the first on this land since 1926, officials said fire remains a threat. Drying grasses are becoming easily ignited fuel. Smoking is not allowed in the park. Nearby areas of the Cleveland National Forest that also burned will remain closed for further rehabilitation, possibly for another year or longer.

There will be ranger-led hikes in the park Sunday and July 20, starting at 10 a.m. at the Red Rock trail head. Hikers should park ($3) at the Borrego entrance off Portola Parkway between Bake and Alton parkways, then hike in on their own about a mile to the trail head, at Red Rock Trail and Mustard Road. The total round-trip from the Borrego entrance takes about four hours.

The park reopens at 9 a.m. Saturday and will be open from 7 a.m. to sunset daily. More information: www.ocparks.com

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janet.wilson@latimes.com