{"id":41717,"date":"2018-12-19T06:41:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=41717"},"modified":"2020-05-22T12:58:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T19:58:12","slug":"after-the-blaze-a-trails-new-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/after-the-blaze-a-trails-new-beginnings","title":{"rendered":"After the Blaze, A Trail\u2019s New Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note<\/span>: Trails are just one part of a community that must be cared for after a wildfire. This article focuses on the efforts communities in California have taken to rebuild trails following the Valley and Thomas fires in 2015 and<\/span> 2017. REI is also contributing to efforts to help support the lives of those who have been impacted by wildfires this year, including those impacted by the devastating Camp Fire. Part of those efforts include a $20,000 contribution to the <\/span>California Community Foundation\u2019s Wildfire Relief Fund<\/span><\/a> in support of immediate humanitarian needs. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

On the day of the wildfire three years ago, Debbie Bloomquist was riding her road bike, training for a century ride on the roads that wind through the rolling hills near Cobb, in Northern California. It was a Saturday, and Bloomquist had planned a long route that would have taken her eight hours to ride. But early in the morning, she crashed, and the hard fall left her unconscious. When she woke up, she saw a man pulling her bike to the side of the road. An ambulance took her to the emergency room, and Bloomquist learned that she broke her collarbone and suffered a concussion. Her husband picked her up from the hospital. On the drive home, they saw a plume of smoke. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at my husband and said, \u2018That is going up the hill toward our house,\u2019\u201d Bloomquist said. <\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> Valley Fire<\/span><\/a> started just after 1pm that Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in a rural part of Northern California. Ultimately, the fire burned 76,000 acres and almost 2,000 structures. Four firefighters were injured, and four people died in the fire. Almost 1,300 homes were destroyed, including Bloomquist\u2019s house. \u201cMost everyone I knew lost their homes,\u201d she said. A few days after the Valley Fire started, the <\/span>Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/i><\/a> called it \u201cone of the worst in California history\u201d for the pace at which it grew and the damage it caused. In the three years since, <\/span>several California wildfires<\/span><\/a> have exceeded the destruction of the Valley Fire. While writing this story, <\/span>the Camp Fire in Northern California <\/span><\/a>had just claimed the title of the most deadly and destructive wildfire in the state\u2019s modern history. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur entire neighborhood was gone. Our town was gone,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cThat craziness \u2026 trying to recover from an accident, then to deal with your home being gone, then we learned about Boggs a couple weeks later and learned how badly damaged the forest was.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The same fire that destroyed her home, also destroyed the trails where she regularly rode her mountain bike. <\/span>Boggs<\/span><\/a> is a nearby demonstration forest. Bloomquist said it had a 22-mile network of trails that locals, including Bloomquist, used to hike or run or ride mountain bikes. Like many of us, Bloomquist said she took trails for granted. She says she had no idea what kind of work went into building trails, though she would soon find out. More than 98 percent of the 3,493-acre Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest was destroyed in the Valley Fire,\u00a0<\/span>according to Cal Fire,<\/span><\/a> the state\u2019s department of forestry and fire protection. When Bloomquist described the loss of the local trails, she said it was like getting hit in the heart twice. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn life, we all deal with stress. We deal with anxiety. Our relief is to go ride our bikes on trails, or go run, or hike, or ride a horse,\u201d said Bloomquist, who is 45 years old and is the treasurer for the Friends of Boggs Mountain<\/a>, a regional group that is working to restore trails destroyed in the Valley Fire. \u201cWhen you go through a natural disaster, you feel all of those things you may feel. You have all of these emotions that are constant in your mind and in your physical body, and when you don\u2019t have your trail system, there\u2019s no release. You\u2019re not only dealing with this tragedy that struck your community, you\u2019re also dealing with this fact that you have no release like you\u2019re used to. That\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The High Chair trailhead in February 2017, a year and a half after the Valley Fire scorched the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. (Photo Credit: Debbie Bloomquist)<\/p><\/div>\n

After a wildfire, there is no single method for how to rebuild trails. Often, the work and the funding becomes the responsibility of local volunteer groups who rally together to restore a public asset. Each organization finds their own way to raise money, to navigate the public land management of their particular forest, to prioritize which trails or infrastructure projects need to be done first. In Northern California, Bloomquist said there is dialogue between groups in Boggs, Sonoma and Napa counties, and to the north in the redwoods. <\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, the loss of an old thing created an opportunity to build something new, and perhaps better. In Southern California, where the Thomas Fire raged through more than 281,000 acres of a coastal mountain range, a local nonprofit hopes to rebuild trails in a way that will make them more accessible to a broader range of people. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNobody walks into rebuilding trails after a wildfire as an expert,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cYou go through it once, and you navigate your way through the craziness.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

After the Valley Fire, viewpoints throughout Boggs Mountain appeared, says Bloomquist. This photo was taken in October 2018. (Photo Credit: Debbie Bloomquist)<\/p><\/div>\n

One year ago, the <\/span>Thomas Fire<\/span><\/a> and succeeding mudslides transformed the landscape in the coastal mountains that frame Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. At that time, it was the largest wildfire in California history and it destroyed more than 1,000 structures, as well as 125 miles of trails throughout the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Santa Barbara and Montecito, the trails were historic, said Mike Tarpey, president of the board of the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers<\/a> (SBMTV). The 30-year-old organization maintained trails in Santa Barbara and Montecito that could be traced back to homesteads and Native American passages. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese aren\u2019t trails that have been built in the last 20 years,\u201d Tarpey said. \u201cThese are all trails that have been carved into the mountain for decades and decades.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But wildfires and mudslides pay no attention to historic legacy. In some instances in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the trails were erased off the mountainside entirely. Suddenly, the volunteer workload shifted from trail maintenance to trail building. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 50 percent of the trails are reopened and usable and in good shape,\u201d Tarpey said. \u201cBut in other places, there is just huge engineering [work]\u2014boulder-moving, rock-blasting, helicopter-dropping work\u2014that needs to be done to bring some of these trails back into the fold.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The cost to rebuild trails throughout the region is estimated at seven figures, Tarpey said. To support the work being done by city, county and federal agencies that manage the land the trails are located on, the SBMTV joined a coalition of nonprofits, businesses and agencies in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that are actively helping to rebuild trail networks. The\u00a0<\/span>Thomas Fire Trail Fund<\/span><\/a> has a $1 million goal. Out of the tragedy, a new precedent has been set that encourages collaboration and cooperation. Tarpey also said there is now an opportunity to design new trails that are more accessible to a wider range of abilities\u2014perhaps improving the riding altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have banded together,\u201d Tarpey said. \u201cYou see that, out of the ashes, the rising up. Is it an opportunity to rebuild the trails in a more sustainable way that enhances recreation and opens up opportunities to more user groups? That is being discussed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

REI is part of the coalition. Sylvia Schnopp, REI\u2019s outdoor programs and outreach market coordinator in Ventura, orchestrated the coalition\u2019s first meeting in the beginning of February. Schnopp said that, in total, REI has donated $55,000 to nonprofit partners specifically for trail restoration and rebuilding in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough this specific project\u2014the Thomas Fire\/Debris Flow Advisory REI Recovery Group\u2014was not necessarily in my job description, as an REI employee I was empowered to create something new, reflecting on the track record created by other REI markets like Denver, when they responded a few years ago to flooding in their community,\u201d Schnopp said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

A fallen tree after a windstorm in October 2018 on Boggs Mountain. Crews are just beginning to evaluate the work ahead to rebuild the trails. (Photo Credit: Debbie Bloomquist)<\/p><\/div>\n

After the Valley Fire burned through the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest, the extent of damage was so great that forest officials shut down public access to the forest for three years so they could work on reforestation, according to Cal Fire. Because Boggs was a demonstration forest for logging, the process to reopen to the public took longer, said Peter Leuzinger, the Boggs Mountain forest manager. In 2017 and 2018, Cal Fire planted 702,695 trees using seeds collected from Boggs. Then, in July 2018, Boggs finally reopened to the public for recreation on a day-use basis. However, recreation is limited to the existing road system, said Leuzinger. \u201cMost of the trail system was obliterated,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomquist remembers riding her mountain bike on the trails through Boggs several times a week. She said they were mostly flow trails, covered with pine needles, with a few technical sections. She\u2019d recognize familiar faces\u2014other bikers but also runners and hikers. \u201cI know people who lost weight out there. I know people who had debilitating anxiety who no longer had a place to go,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the fire, the forest was so thick Bloomquist said she often felt engulfed by the trees. Now, she sees the view. \u201cYou can see views that you never knew were there,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was shocking, the devastation. I don\u2019t think there was any way to articulate what it looked like to see a hillside that was covered with pine trees be nothing but dirt and stumps.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomquist said she took several trips to the forest before she started to really notice the regrowth. She saw wild lilies and tiny flowers that were no bigger than the tip of her pinkie finger. She sat on a fallen log and saw green plants growing inside of burned holes all over a dead piece of wood. \u201cThe earth does take care of itself,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery time I go out there and I see that, it reminds me that we\u2019re all going to be OK.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pending the approval of an environmental report, Bloomquist and the <\/span>Friends of Boggs Mountain<\/span> are recruiting volunteers to start rebuilding all 22 miles of trails. In the meantime, they are raising money. REI gave the Friends of Boggs Mountain a $10,000 grant to rebuild trails immediately after the fire. In total, the group has about $80,000\u2014a quarter of its funding goal. In addition to contracting a professional multi-use trail builder, who will also train volunteers, the funds will be used to buy equipment and tools to outfit 15 to 20 people, including rogue hoes, chainsaws, safety eyewear, hand tools, rock bars, shovels, trailers to carry it all, and more. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to not have this be a 30-year project but to get the trail system in as soon as possible,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cIt depends on funding and capacity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The trails and the work days have to be approved by Cal Fire, but volunteers will do the chainsaw work and the digging. Hand crews will clear fire slash and debris. Spring 2019 will be a huge push to rebuild.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never realized how I took trails for granted, how I took the communities for granted,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cI had no idea the impact the trail systems have on a community\u2014economically and from a mental health standpoint.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sept. 22, 2018, the Friends of Boggs Mountain held a membership drive with a barbecue in the one section of the forest that was untouched by the fire. About 130 people showed up to support the group. \u201cIt was really great to see people with smiles on their faces,\u201d Bloomquist said. \u201cI was really optimistic about how many people could see the beauty of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

At the time of publication (December 19, 2018), REI had contributed $25,000 to Northern California communities impacted by the Valley Fire, and $55,000<\/span><\/i> to communities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties affected by the Thomas Fire.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Trails are just one part of a community that must be cared for after a wildfire. This article focuses on the efforts communities in California have taken to rebuild trails following the Valley and Thomas fires in 2015 and 2017. REI is also contributing to efforts to help support the lives of those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":41722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,685],"tags":[160,727,1484,480,1549,1462],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-41717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","category-news","tag-california","tag-latest-posts","tag-staff-society","tag-stewardship","tag-west","tag-wildfire"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/after-the-blaze-a-trails-new-beginnings","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"After the Blaze, A Trail\u2019s New Beginnings","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/after-the-blaze-a-trails-new-beginnings","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/after-the-blaze-a-trails-new-beginnings"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/LPFA_BAER_SanYsidroTrail.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/12\/LPFA_BAER_SanYsidroTrail.jpg?fit=3000%2C2250"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["california","latest posts","staff society","stewardship","west","wildfire"],"dateCreated":"2018-12-19T14:41:12Z","datePublished":"2018-12-19T14:41:12Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T19:58:12Z"},"rendered":"