Many parks, trails in Ventura County reopen after Thomas Fire

It’s been just over three months since the Thomas Fire incinerated much of Ventura County’s verdant landscape, forcing beloved hiking trails and parks to close.

Now, after several bouts of rain and concerted cleanup efforts by government and community organizations as well as volunteers, green leaves are starting to sprout from the ashes and several, but not all, trails and parks are again open to the public. 

Underground anomaly:There’s a fire burning under ground near Fillmore, and it’s grown

Cross-border cub:Smuggled Bengal tiger cub undergoes surgery

Revealing history:Thomas Fire exposes several hundred feet of mission-era rock wall in Ventura

Fire fallout:Nonprofits worry Thomas Fire may spark donor fatigue

Steckel Park in Santa Paula — close to where the Thomas Fire started — is fully open on the county-run side, including an aviary with around 120 birds, and a campground, said Ventura County Parks Director Ron Van Dyck. The part of the park operated as a private campground by Ventura Ranch KOA did suffer burn damage to some cabins and an office area and is only partially operational, he said.

“We were somewhat surprised,” Van Dyck said. The county “side of the park had no damage, and yet the other side of the park had sustained damage, and the other side of the street sustained damage. So the fire bounced around there quite a bit.”

Thankfully, he said, none of the aviary’s birds perished in the fire.

County-operated Dennison Park in Ojai is also open, along with Toland Park in Santa Paula. Dennison Park sustained minor burn damage, and the undeveloped upper section of Toland Park burned, Van Dyck said.

Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura reopened Feb. 6 after a 10-week shutdown. The park at Foothill and Day roads saw significant damage during the fire. Its interpretive center, pump house and playground burned down, along with the vegetation on its slopes, including 50 trees that had to be removed. The burned areas are fenced off, but the park’s hiking trails are open, along with the picnic areas and restrooms.

“The main area, the green grassy area part of the park, actually looks pretty normal,” said Tom Martin, parks manager for the city of Ventura. “But it definitely looks different. You go in there and the hillsides are all scorched and you’ve got three areas fenced off. You can definitely tell we’ve been through a natural disaster.”

Visitors to the park are advised to stay on the trails and keep their dogs on a leash while hiking.

“We’re just really happy people are able get back in the park and enjoy it,” Martin said. “Just be prepared; it looks different.”

In Ojai, nearly all of the 27 miles of trails operated by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy have reopened.

Only two trails have parts that remain closed, according to Executive Director Brian Stark. The closed areas are an approximately three-quarter mile stretch of the Chaparral Crest Trail on the Ventura River Preserve, between Oso Ridge Trail and Fern Grotto Trail. The Fuelbreak Road trail, an approximately one-mile trail connecting the U.S. Forest Service’s Fuelbreak Road and Gridley Trail, is also closed. There is no date yet for reopening these trails.

Additionally, a bridge over the Casitas water canal that served as an access point to the Ventura River Preserve’s lower Rice Canyon burned in the fire, so hikers can no longer access that area via the Orange Grove Trail, Stark said.

Ojai’s trails and surrounding acres saw significant burn damage, and hundreds of oak trees were lost to the fire, Stark said. The conservancy conducted intensive cleanup efforts with the help of volunteers, enabling many of the trails to reopen within less than a month of the fire, but much work remains to be done, he said. The trails are still vulnerable to rain and debris flow, so there may be periodic closures in the future.

Stark urged people using the trails to stay on the path, explaining that stepping off the trails can compact the soil and make it harder for plants to regrow. He also cautioned against planting seeds, since all the seeds needed for recovery are already in the soil and just need to be given a chance to grow.

“Stay on the trail and observe and respect the trail closures. They’re there for a reason,” he said. “Staying on the trails is a nice way to show that people care.”

Parks and trails that remain closed include the Ventura Botanical Gardens, located above City Hall in Ventura. Many of the plants there come from climates accustomed to fire and as a result are expected to regrow, said the gardens’ president, Barbara Brown, adding that even though they burned away on the surface, their roots remain untouched in the ground.

“We are actually starting to see a little bit of green here and there, so that’s good news,” Brown said.

The fire also helped take out old and dead plants that had been slated for removal, she said. Additionally, the fire uncovered historical architectural features, including old walls and a water system believed to have been built by Chinese immigrants, she said.

Volunteers started planting the garden in 2012 as part of a 40-year plan to fill the 109-acre garden with plants from different Mediterranean climate regions. That plan is still on track, Brown said.

“Of course, it was a setback,” Brown said of the fire, describing how she watched the gardens burn and felt devastated at first. “It’s going to take a while for it to get back to the way that it was, but I anticipate … it should look great in the spring.”

Brown said the gardens are expected to reopen in the summer, along with a new welcome center. In the meantime, maintenance work is required to shore up the hillside and make sure the grounds are safe for the public.

Back in the Ojai area, almost all of the trails and campgrounds in the Ojai Ranger District section of the Los Padres National Forest remain off limits following the fire. This includes the Rose Valley Falls trail, the Piedra Blanca Trailhead, the Matilija Wilderness Trailhead and Sespe Road, along with the Rose Valley and Wheeler Gorge campgrounds.

Two trails are open, however: the Potrero John and Chorro Grande trails, located off Highway 33 past Piedra Blanca. Visitor information specialist Jennifer Gray said there are currently no firm dates for reopening the trails and campgrounds, and some may be closed for a long time due to extensive fire damage.

Fire recovery:Thomas Fire homeowners seek economy of scale in mass rebuild