Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains was set to partially reopen Friday, two years after it was devastated by the massive CZU Fire.
The ancient forest survived, and now the public can see it coming back to life for themselves. Two years after the CZU Fire, it’s still obvious that California’s oldest state park burned. The smaller trees are gone, and many of the Douglas firs are not coming back.
But beyond the charred tree trunks, there are signs of life: fuzzy green growth on the giant redwoods, some of which are more than 1,000 years old. There are tiny flowers on the ground and grass in the meadows, as well as lots of bugs and birds.
"If you look around, you can see it’s regenerating, and since the fire, there’s been tremendous amount of cleanup," said Chris Spohrer, with the California State Parks Santa Cruz district. "All the structures had to removed, burned out vehicles, toxic soils and lots and lots of hazard trees had to come down. So, it’s a very different landscape from what it was, but 30 of the trees are coming back remarkably well."
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Crews were able to repurpose some of the redwoods that had to be cut down. They turned them into lumber to build fences, decks and siding for some of the buildings. The historic strucures destroyed by fire will be rebuilt, though farther from the heart of the forest, where they can be protected from the next wildfire.
Because of climate change, the ranger expects there will be more fires in the future.
"I think it’s pretty obvious that a warming and trying climate has exacerbated the intensity and rate of when these fires are happening," Spohrer said. "To see a fire of this intensity coming through this landscape, which is typically moist, which is typically drippy with fog in August, things are changing."
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Day visitors can reach Big Basin via Highway 236, also known as Big Basin Highway, which will reopen permanently Friday. There are about 45 parking spots available by reservation at the park.
Bikers and hikers are always welcome on the 18 miles of fire roads now open again. But it's going to be years before people can camp at Big Basin again.
