TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: THE 2ND YEAR AND

3RD YEARS, 2004 TO 2005 AND 2005 TO 2006

THE CEDAR, GRAND PRIX/OLD, PIRU, and PADUA FIRES

Ken R. Hubbert Research Soil Scientist, Wildland Soils, Hubbert & Associates krhubbert@yahoo.com Grand Prix/Old Fire photo points: V. Sjoberg sjobraid@frontiernet.net

2nd year field monitoring: R. Colter, T. Ellsworth Piru Fire A. King, T. Kaplan-Henry, J. Courter

Acknowledgements

Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service: P. Robichaud Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside: V. Oriol, W. Christensen, M. Parlow, P. Wohlgemuth, J. Beyers, D. Weise Cleveland National Forest: M. Marquette, S. Roder San Bernardino National Forest: JA Johnson, S. Eliason, K. VinZant, G. Richmond Los Padres National Forest: A. King, K. Shaw Angeles National Forest: D. Vance San Dimas Technology Center: C. Napper

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Table of Contents

Summary table…………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Cedar Fire - Cleveland NF ….…………………………………………………………………………..11 Grand Prix/Old Fire, San Bernardino NF. ……………………………………………....................... .35

Piru Fire, Los Padres NF. ……………………………………………………………………………… 62

Padua Fire, Angeles NF. ……………………………………………………………….......................... 85

References…………………………………………………………………………...................................87 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………….………………90 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………………….92 Appendix C.................................................................................................................................................93 Appendix D……………………………………………….………………………………………………94 Appendix E...............................................................................................................................................113

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Summary Table

Land treatments

Aerial hydromulch – Cedar Fire • Treatment cover was less than expected either strip or broadcast, cover achieved was 27% and 56% respectively. • The soil cover levels that were achieved during the hydromulch treatment appeared to be effective in reducing erosion during mild rain events of the 1st winter on both gabbro and granitic parent materials. It was thought that the aerial hydromulch reduced erosion by controlling the overland velocity of water by allowing greater infiltration. • Both treated and control granitic derived soils were more erosive than gabbro derived soils. • Total cover excluding rock of ~30% was not adequate in protecting the hillsopes from erosion during the October 2004 storm events. However, total covers of 35 and 49% reduced erosion during the same October rain events on both the 50% treated gabbro and the 100% treated granitic soils. This suggests that total coverage somewhere between 35 and 50% can limit erosion. Therefore, treatment prescriptions calling for less coverage may be appropriate. • Hydromulch cover was greatly reduced following the 1st winter rains, and was completely gone from the site following the heavy winter rains of the 2nd year. • The breakdown of the hydromulch was faster than what was expected in the treatment prescription. If longer lasting mulch is needed for burned area protection and recovery, then other mulch materials need to be considered. • Because of its rapid breakdown, the hydromulch provided little protection to the hillslopes during the October 2004 storm events of the beginning of the 2nd year. • Because of the relatively small differences in erosion between treatment applications, it would be more economical to use the 50% strip treatment. Additionally, it is very important that implementation monitoring be added to ensure better treatment coverage. • Hydromulch cover was greatly reduced following the 1st winter rains, and was completely gone from the site following the heavy winter rains of the 2nd year. • The breakdown of the hydromulch was faster than what was called for in the treatment prescription. It was unclear if there were any residual effects of the treatment in the soil after breakdown. • Because of its rapid breakdown, the hydromulch provided little protection to the hillslopes during the October 2004 storm events of the beginning of the 2nd year. Most of the hillslope erosion occurred during the October 2004 storms, as a result of low plant and treatment ground cover and high intensity rain events. • It appeared that both the 50 and 100% hydromulch treatments did not affect 1st or 2nd year percent plant recovery on either gabbro or granitic parent materials. Toward the end of the 2nd year, vegetation cover averaged >60% at all sites. • Percent cover of morning glory, goldenfields, catseye, and red brome all increased in the presence of the hydromulch. • The accelerated growth of morning glory was likely due to hydromulch providing additional

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moisture to the soil. • Erosion remained low the 3rd year as a result of very low rainfall during the 2005-2006 winter, even though vegetation cover was reduced. Fibre rows (straw wattles) – Cedar Fire • Because of low precipitation during the 1st winter, there was very little movement of sediment on the treated hillslopes. The above average 2004-2005 2nd winter resulted in only small movements of sediment on both treated and untreated hillslopes. This was partly due to the rapid growth of the resprouting chaparral species, which can be seen clearly in the photo point monitoring. • Fiber rolls promoted vegetation recovery by allowing increased infiltration and storage of water on the slopes. Photo points along the fiber roll installation locations indicated that natural revegetation was most successful behind the fiber rolls where the soil was stabilized. • Implementation monitoring of the fiber roll treatment is needed to ensure proper installation. • The fiber rolls successfully remained in place but many failed when placed incorrectly across drainage landscape positions. Fiber rolls that failed by undercutting should not be repaired by backfilling with fresh hillslope material. • The incorrect downward turning of the fiber roll ends contributed to rilling observed on the site. • Vertical spacing of the fiber rolls needs further investigation. Based on three years of observation of the straw wattles at the San Diego Country Estates, lengthening the distance between wattles should be considered. More scientific data is needed to support and recommend the spacing criteria used, especially when considering the extra costs incurred. • Implementation of wattles is highly labor intensive. Foot traffic when transporting the wattles resulted in greater disturbance to the already fire-disturbed hillslopes. Straw heli-mulch – Old Fire • Wind was the main factor in determining final cover percentages for straw. On the front range, most of the aerial straw mulch was blown off-site by Santa Ana winds, resulting in cover percentages from 0 to 10%. In the Lake Silverwood area, straw remained on the ground, but had the tendency to clump and form mounds. Treatment cover in this area was <30%. • The straw heli-mulch failed to provide the ground cover that was prescribed in the treatment plan. • The wind blown straw formed deep piles on the hillslopes that prevented the germination and growth of plants. • There were problems with straw mulch application by helicopter. It was observed that straw bales did not sufficiently break up to provide targeted cover percentages over the steep slopes and irregular shaped topography. • For the most part, straw mulch did not affect plant recovery. By the 2nd year, the straw piles had become reduced in size. By the 3rd year at City, Cr., straw coverage was reduced to <5%. • Straw mulch should not be applied in areas that experience early growing seasons from December to March (such as below 3,000 ft on the front range of the San Bernardinos), because of excellent natural post-fire revegetation as seen in the photo point monitoring.

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• Straw heli-mulch should not applied in areas where high winds are known to occur. • Because of low coverage rates, straw heli-mulch was not cost effective. • Straw mulch should not be applied in areas that experience early growing seasons from December to March (such as below 3,000 ft on the front range of the San Bernardinos), because of excellent natural post-fire revegetation. • Overall, the straw heli-mulch treatment was determined to be unsuccessful in meeting treatment objectives of restoring soil cover, reducing erosion, and reducing sediment production. Hand-placed straw – Grand Prix/Old Fire • Hand-placed straw mulch provided the ground cover that was prescribed in the treatment plan when not subjected to high winds. • Straw mulch affected plant recovery when it remained on the ground and accumulated in deep piles. • Hand-placed straw mulch should not applied in areas where high winds are known to occur. Channel treatments

Straw bale check dams – Grand Prix Fire • The straw bale check dams were successful in storing sediment and providing water and nutrients for plant recovery during the 1st year of below average rainfall. • Vegetation established during the spring of 2004 during the 1st year somewhat stabilized portions of the stored sediment before the October storm events. • Bedloading of the channels behind the checkdams allowed water to flow unimpeded, resulting in severe downcutting below the checkdams during the October 2004 storm events. • During the record setting storm events of the winter of 2004-2005, all of the check dams failed by completely blowing out. In many cases, there was no sign of any strawbales. • In agreement with Booker and Dietrich (1998), it was concluded that strawbale check dams should not be placed in any catchment with a drainage area greater than one hectare. Log check dams – Piru Fire • Channel bedloading was increased during and for weeks following the fire by the high rate of production of dry ravel material. • The log check dams immediately filled with sediment after only 2 inches of rain during the December 2003 storms. • The check dams began to fail during the February rain events, either by under-cutting, or by down-cutting of the stream bank at the sides. • Those that failed at the sides resulted in further cutting of the bank that has continued from the 1st year to the 3rd year resulting in bank erosion and more sediment contributed to the

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channel. • The check dam treatment promoted greater erosion in the channel, and in places, has put the road in danger by undercutting the stream banks. • The entire set of channel treatments should not have been implemented because (1) the high production rate of material (dry ravel) in these steep (>55% watersheds) provided high bedloading of fresh materials for transport (2) steep gradients in the upper drainages, (3) redirection of new channels as fresh flows cut into the newly deposited sediment because of lessening of the gradient, and (4) questionable values at risk ( Lake Piru Reservoir, most believed that sedimentation posed no problem). • Implementation teams may need to modify the Assessment teams treatment plans based upon local site-specific conditions, but the Assessment Team Leader should be consulted before any new treatments are considered or approved that were not in the original 2500-8 Burned Area Emergency Response report. Road treatments Cedar Fire • Numerous overside drains failed after the above normal winter of 2004-2005. Reasons for failure included (1) size too small, (2), lack of reinforcement with rock and soil, and (3) flow from drainage entering road too large for an overside drain. However, the treatment was less expensive than replacing with a culvert. • Even though overside drains have a good chance of failure during intense and large storms, they can be termed successful in that they reduced water energy from the road and prevented much greater road damage. • For the most part, upsizing of existing overside drains on Miner’s Road from 12 to 18 inches was effective. • The OHV removable pipe barriers were successful in deterring OHV activity in areas where they have been placed. • Barbed wire fencing continued to be cut in accessible areas. It appeared that fencing alone did not act as a deterrent. It is recommended that patrols be added along with barriers or fencing as an added deterrent. • The pipe barriers worked fine, but were limited in use due to their expense. Some fencing was placed in areas that were already inaccessible due to topography. There was also unnecessary overlapping of the fence and barrier treatments. Improved planning would have saved the additional treatment costs. Piru Fire • Because of the time and distances involved, storm patrols can only access a minimum of roads during major storm events. Therefore, it was rare for failures to be prevented by the storm patrol. For the most part, the storm patrol was only able to identify where treatments had failed or new failures had occurred. However, storm patrols were efficient in identifying clogged culverts. • Because of the constant deposition of dry ravel and fluvial sediments, road grading was a continuous and successful treatment application throughout the 3-years following the fire.

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• Out of the7 total LWC’s with K-rails installed, 4 were originally placed too high and failed, and 3 were placed low enough and were successful the 1st year. In many cases, repairs had to be repeated numerous times (further lowering of K-rail) until the treatment was deemed working. • K-rail treatment placed at low water crossings did not work during the 2nd year winter storms. K-Rails that remained in place the 1st year had blown out after the 2nd year storms and some pieces have been transported down stream. This was another reason not to place any obstructions in channels. • Both overside drains with metal outlets and overside drains with either Little Macs or Big Macs worked during the 1st year. Most of the culverts that were replaced the 1st year were upsized and appeared to be working. • During the large storm events of the 2nd winter, it was impossible to prevent plugging and blowouts of culverts. • Slope failures and soil slips commonly occurred in the area following the 2nd year storms causing numerous road blockages. • Channel vein structures failed in slowing the energy of the water through the curve, thus preventing further erosion of the bank below the road and Matthew’s cabin. • Overall, most of the treatments implemented the 1st year following the fire failed during the record breaking storm events of the 2004-2005 winter. However, the roads have been repaired and are open for access. Most of the k-rails have been removed and the low water crossings have been redesigned. It is almost impossible and rarely cost effective to prevent road failure in some locations. • Slope failures and soil slips commonly occurred in the area following the 2nd year storms causing numerous road blockages. • Channel vein structures failed in slowing the energy of the water through the channel curve below Matthew’s cabin, and further erosion of the bank below the road was observed. • Overall, most of the treatments implemented the 1st year following the fire failed during the record breaking storm events of the 2004-2005 winter. However, the roads have been repaired and are open for access. Most of the k-rails have been removed and the low water crossings have been redesigned. Because of the magnitude of the 2004-2005 winter, it was almost impossible and rarely cost effective to prevent road failure in the Piru area. Grand Prix/Old Fire • Where steep slopes occurred, dry ravel was a major problem to roads. Removal of debris from the roads was an ongoing treatment problem. • Due to bedloading of channels by dry ravel, culvert cleanout was an important necessity. • Overside drains and extensions were successful in preventing further erosion by reducing the velocity of flowing water. • Hazard warning signs and gate closures were successful in protecting the public and also in protecting fragile burn areas and heritage sites. • Patrolling roads for illegal access by OHV’s was successful.

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Noxious weeds Grand Prix/Old • Infestations of the target weed species Ailanthus altissma, Centaurea melitensis, Cirsium vulgare, Helianthus annuus, Nicotania glauca, and Spartium junceum seemed to be the most prevalent in the areas surveyed. Foeniculum vulgare, Riccinus communis and Tamarix ramosissima were also detected in several areas and occupied a small enough area to warrant efficient removal. There were also large infestations with dense canopy covers of the other non-native species, most especially Brassica nigra, Bromus diandrus, Bromus madritensis, Bromus tectorum and Erodium cicutarium. The greatest concentrations of weed species seemed to be associated with roadsides, bulldozer lines and drainages near human habitation. Weed species found were likely present in most of the areas seed banks, and released from competition following the fire. In the majority of infestations, fire suppression and/or spread from pre-existing populations were the likely causes of introduction. Piru Fire • Infestations of the target weed species Centaurea melitensis was the most prevalent in the areas surveyed. This species seemed to occur mostly along roads and trails but has begun to spread. Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) was detected in several areas, had patchy distribution, and occupied a small enough acreage to warrant efficient removal. Spartium junceum was found to occur along road ditches and drainages and was spreading into the stream systems. The non-native grass species Avena barbata, Bromus diandrus, Bromus madritensis, and Bromus tectorum were also recorded as commonly occurring within the Piru burn areas. All fires: • During the 2nd year, monitoring of reported noxious weeds continued. Eradication of invasive species continued to be focused on areas disturbed by fire suppression. • Road closures helped prevent the spread of noxious weeds by curtailing the unauthorized access of off-road vehicles (OHV’s). • Uncovered dozer and hand lines exhibited high infestations of noxious weeds, but infestations were greatly reduced where rehabilitated. • Infestations of the target weed species Centaurea melitensis was the most prevalent in most of the areas surveyed. Heritage resources • Most monitoring of cultural sites was greatly reduced the 2nd year because vegetation recovery sufficiently obscured the sites from view helping prevent vandalism and looting.

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Introduction

The Southern California wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds (Fig. 1) burned 721,791

acres (2,921 km²) in two weeks during October 2003 with ~ 40% occurring on Federal lands (Fig. 1). Major fires burning at any one time included the Piru, Verdale, and Simi Fires, the Grand Prix and Old Fires, and the Paradise and Cedar Fires (Fig. 1). Although the fires burned through diverse plant communities dominated by chaparral, coniferous forests comprised only 5% of the total acreage burned (Keeley et al., 2004).

Fig. 1.1. Heading SE along the coast, the 1st group of red dots represent the Piru, Verdale, and Simi Fires; the 2nd group of dots show the Grand Prix and Old Fires; and to the south are located the Paradise and Cedar Fires. Image acquired on October 23, 2003 by the NASA Earth Observatory. The high-resolution image is 500 meters per pixel. Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Immediately following the fires, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams assessed the burned areas to determine if treatments were necessary to protect life and property; water quality; roads and trails; heritage resources; and threatened or endangered plant and animal species. The various “Initial and Interim 2500-8 Burned Area Emergency Response” reports for the particular fires documented in detail all the values at risk found during BAER assessment and the treatments that were proposed to reduce threats. Once treatments were prescribed, funds were requested which included monitoring. Because of a GAO report (GAO 2003) finding that current monitoring practices needed improvement in consistency, coordination, and information

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reporting, the Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) developed a monitoring plan to address treatments implemented in response to these particular wildfires. The 1st year report (Hubbert 2005) monitored the effectiveness of a variety of BAER treatments implemented at each fire to protect specific values at risk. Second and 3rd year monitoring followed the same treatments monitored during the 1st year, with a few minor changes. Land treatments monitored included: (1) aerial hydromulching (2) fiber rolls (straw wattles), (3) straw heli-mulching and (4) hand-placed straw mulching. Channel treatments monitored included: (1) straw bale check dams and (2) log check dams (log erosion barriers). Road treatments were difficult to monitor the 2nd year because of record rainfalls that blocked access to the road treatment sites. In some cases, noxious weed populations were not monitored by the local Forests during the 2nd and 3rd year. Second and 3rd year inspections of heritage resources were determined by the individual Forests. Objectives and strategies of the monitoring program were as follows: (land treatments) to measure the effectiveness of the treatment in reducing erosion and its effect on vegetation recovery, (channel treatments) to monitor the effectiveness of treatments on sediment delivery and water movement in ephemeral and intermittent drainages, (road treatments) to monitor the effectiveness of treatments in reducing road failures, (noxious weeds) to monitor the expansion of known infestations and identify introductions of new species, and (heritage site protection) to monitor treatments that were implemented to protect the cultural resource at risk.. The type of treatment implemented varied between the wildfires according to the values at risk. Every fire was different in its nature, location, and topography, and treatments were planned accordingly. The rapidly expanding wildland /urban interface in San Diego County, for example, called for hillslope treatments to protect communities at risk from erosion processes following the Cedar Fire. In the Piru Fire, treatments focused on road repair because access into the Sespe oil fields and Sespe wilderness condor refuge were major at risk priorities. In regards to the Grand Prix/Old Fire, watersheds above Silverwood Lake were treated to prevent sedimentation of the reservoir and to protect water quality. There were a number of problems encountered during monitoring of the BAER treatments the 2nd and 3rd years. The above average rainfall of the 2004-2005 winter resulted in road closures and loss of access to the Piru and Sespe areas. Storm patrols organized by Terry Kaplan-Henry and Josh Courter provided much needed monitoring information on road and channel treatment failures in the area during the 3rd year. Allen King provided additional photo records of road treatment failures, soil slips, and most importantly, photo point sequences of the log check dams in Dominquez Canyon during the 2nd and 3rd years. On all Forests, we encountered rapid turnover of personnel, either from retirement or transfer to other areas. This made it difficult to gather 2nd and 3rd year information on noxious weeds, heritage resources, and road treatments. Local fire personnel were utilized for a portion of the monitoring efforts and new fires in the same area caused some delay in the collection of data during the 2nd and 3rd years. These problems were overcome and the 2nd and 3rd year monitoring was accomplished During the record setting precipitation of the 2004-2005 winter, the storms resulted in increased erosion and treatment failures the 2nd year, rather than the usual flush of erosion and failures seen during the 1st year following wildfires.

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Cedar Fire Cleveland National Forest

Background The Cedar Fire began on October 25, 2003 in San Diego County, eventually developing into the largest and most destructive of the California wildfires. In the early hours of the 2nd day, the fire swept along by powerful Santa Ana winds rapidly spread through the Wildcat Canyon area of San Diego County killing 11 people, several in their vehicles as they attempted to evacuate. Overall, the Cedar Fire burned a total of 284,790 acres, causing 15 deaths, and destroying over 2400 residences. The fire consumed most of the effective cover within the burned perimeter (Fig. 2.1). Burn severity on National Forest Service land was mapped as (low) 4,232 acres, (moderate) 52.386 acres, and (high) 6,864acres (Frazier 2003). Water repellency was mapped as zero percent by the BAER team. Because chaparral skeletons were left mainly intact following the fire, it was believed that the re-sprouting shrubs would provide adequate cover within 3-5 years.

Fig. 2.1. The Cedar Fire perimeter mapped on November 3, 2003. Arrows show treatment areas near San Diego Country Estates and Peutz Valley. Map credit: California Division of Forestry.

Peutz Valley

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Fig. 2.2. Aerial hydromulch being applied in 30 m wide strips on left. At right, a close-up view of hydromulch on the ground. A small plant has broken through the mulch.

Watershed response to precipitation events was mapped as high over most of the fire area due to the extensive loss of plant cover and runoff and sediment yield was expected to increase substantially. Two housing developments, Peutz Valley and San Diego Country Estates (Fig. 2.1), were identified as locations at risk of flood damage. The developments were located on private land downstream of Cleveland National Forest land. Aerial applied hydromulch was prescribed for the watersheds above Puetz Valley. Fiber rolls (straw wattles) were prescribed for the watershed above San Diego Country Estates. Numerous road treatments were prescribed, along with gates and barriers to prevent OHV access. Monitoring was conducted on the aerial hydromulch and fiber roll treatments, as well as roads, cultural resources, and noxious weeds.

Land treatments Aerial hydromulch, Puetz Valley - Viejas Mountain Background

Non-seeded aerial hydromulch was applied to watersheds located above the residential

community of Peutz Valley (Fig. 2.2). A total of 1100 acres were treated at a cost of approximately $1500 per acre (total $1,650,000). The purpose of the aerial hydromulch was to provide immediate ground cover to help reduce flood peaks and sediment yield downstream in

the community of Peutz Valley where there were high values at risk. It was expected that hydromulch would reduce runoff during precipitation events by increasing infiltration into the soil, and promote recovery of native species through moisture retention and by decreasing evaporation. Many wildland soils have low nutrient status and water holding capacity, such that a hydromulch organic layer can maintain a more favorable growing environment over the longer term. In addition, the use of hydromulch was preferred over aerial straw mulch, because of the high winds common to the area in the winter months.

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The aerial hydromulch was a wood and paper mulch matrix with a non water-soluble binder, often referred to as bonded fiber matrix mulches (BFM’s). The BFM’s are a continuous layer of elongated fiber strands held together by a water-resistant, cross linked, hydrocolloid tackifier (bonding agent), copolymer gel, and polyacrylamide that flocculates and anchors the fiber mulch matrix to the soil surface. They can penetrate into and bond with the soil substrate to one half inch depths. They provide a thicker cover than ordinary hydromulch, and are recommended for steeper ground and areas frequented by high intensity storms. They eliminate direct rain drop impact onto the soil, have high water holding capacity, are porous enough not to inhibit plant growth, and will biodegrade completely. Breakdown of the product does not occur for up to six to twelve months through multiple weather cycles including rain. Typical application rates range from 3000 to 4000 lb/acre depending on slope. Water holding capacity can range from.10 to 15 times its dry weight. Normal mixing rates are 60 lbs per 150 gallons water. The average ph is 4.8 ± 2. The mulch was mixed as a slurry and applied by helicopter (Fig. 2.2). The application area ranged from 1 to 4 miles from the staging area, encompassing both Forest Service and Capitan Grande Indian Reservation land. On Forest Service lands, it was applied in strips to achieve an overall 50% coverage because of a concern that the hydromulch would retard native plant recovery if it was broadcast. On the Capitan Grand Indian Reservation lands, it was broadcast to achieve 100% cover. The 50% cover treatment (strips) on Forest Service lands was laid on a contour at 30 m intervals in the upper portion of the Peutz Valley watershed (Fig. 2.3). It was important to note that the actual applied hydromulch cover percentages were well below the planned 100 and 50% cover target rates. Mean values for best actual coverage measured ~2 months after application were 56% for the “100% treatment and 27% for the “50% strip treatment” on the granitic terrain (Table 2.1).

Fig. 2.3. Aerial hydromulch applied on the contour at 30 m intervals to the west side of Viejas Mountain near Alpine, CA.

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Fig. 2.4. Top - Representative silt fence construction showing red chalk placed behind fence. Bottom - View of contributing area behind the silt fence.

Many concerns were addressed by the community before, during, and after the hydromulch treatment application. Primary concern focused on the mulch suppressing native seed germination, thus increasing long-term rates of erosion as more bare soil would be exposed to rainfall once the mulch decomposed. There was also was concern that post-fire mulch treatment would encourage the spread of non-native invasive species and disrupt processes of native plant succession. And last, many believed the project unnecessary because of the rapid post-fire recovery of chaparral systems that naturally resprout and reseed without human intervention. To answer these questions, we looked at how effective mulch was in preventing erosion and also its effect on plant recovery and species diversity. We also compared the effectiveness of the hydromulch between the 50% contour strip treatment and the 100% mulch treatment. In addition we were able to compare the difference in soil erosion and plant recovery between gabbro and granitic parent material. Methods

Silt fences were constructed of synthetic woven geotextile fabric that passed water but not sediment. Silt fences were oriented across the contour perpendicular to the lines of potential runoff (Fig. 2.4). The approximate 5-foot collecting area upslope of the silt fence was smoothed

of any rocks or uneven spots, and a layer of construction chalk was then applied to mark the boundary of the natural soil and any subsequent accumulated sediment. The upslope contributing area was limited to 100 feet so the structure was not overtopped. In cases where we encountered a natural boundary, the measured length to the obstruction was used. . We installed a total of 54 silt fences at the site. We monitored both the 100% hydro-mulch and the 50% strip hydro-mulch treatment. In addition, we compared the treatments on two different parent materials, granite bedrock and gabbro bedrock. Silt fences were distributed as follows: gabbro control = 13; gabbro strip 50% cover = 11; granitic control = 10; granitic strip 50% cover = 10; and 100% cover granitic = 10. Controls were placed in areas with comparable characteristics of geology, soils, topography, burn severity and pre-fire vegetation. Precipitation data was acquired from the RAWS station located in Alpine, CA (Fig. 2.5). Soil and site descriptions are included in Appendix E.

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Results Soil erosion

During the 1st five months following the fire, sediment production was lower in the treated plots than in the control plots (Fig. 2.6). However, because of the below normal rainfall amounts of the 2003-2004 winter (Fig. 2.5), it was difficult to assess the success or failure of the hydromulch treatment (Hubbert 2005). Additionally, by June 27, 2004, hydromulch cover had been reduced to 4.7% on the gabbro 50% treated plots, 8.2% on the granitic 50% treated plots, and 20.2% on the granitic 100% treated plots (Table 2.1). It was unclear if the breakdown of the hydromulch was causing any residual effects to the soil. There was no hydromulch left on the soil surface after the 2nd and 3rd year winters (Table 2.1). On the granitic 100% treated plots, hydromulch was successful in lowering erosion as compared to the control and 50% treated plots (Fig. 2.6). Less clear was the reduction in sediment on the gabbro 50% site as compared to the control, because at this time there was only 4.7% ground cover accounted for by hydromulch.

Most of the erosion measured at the different treatment sites occurred ~13 months following the wildfire (Fig. 2.6). Precipitation was below normal during the winter of 2003-2004 and followed a drought period of 5 years (Fig. 2.6). High rainfall in February of 2004 contributed the most to what sediment was delivered to the silt fences during the first winter following the fire. In Figure 2.7, the relatively low accumulated totals of sediment measured on March 3, 2004 (~4 months after the fire) reflected the low rainfall amounts through March 2004 (Fig. 2.6). Only the granitic control site exhibited high erosion (~6000 kg/ha). The high amount was influenced by a natural drainage that was developing behind one of the silt fences as indicated by the wide error bars. This drainage was not noticed when the silt fence was built and the contributing area was mapped.

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)3/3/200412/3/20048/18/20056/26/2006

Fig. 2.6. Cumulative sediment production measured at four different time intervals following the fire. Five treatment categories were studied: (1) Gabbro control, (2) Gabbro 50% treated, (3) Granitic 50% treated, (4) Granitic 100% treated, and (5) Granitic control.

Sediment production rates increased dramatically during the 2nd year following the fire (Fig. 2.6). Rainfall intensity controlled much of the hillslope and watershed hydrologic response in October and November of 2004. Although rainfall totals for October of 2004 were relatively low, the high intensity of the rain events was unusual for this time of year. In addition, plant cover on all sites still remained low (Table 2.1), principally because of no additional precipitation through the summer months (Fig. 2.5). The intensity of the rainfall in October resulted in increased sediment production at all sites (Fig. 2.6). The above normal rain events during the 2004-2005 winter resulted in a rapid expansion of plant cover during the spring of 2005. Plant cover was measured above 60% at all sites (Table 2.1, Fig. 2.8). With plant cover established, there was little sediment production as seen in the August 18, 2005 bar columns for all treatments (Fig. 2.6). Sediment production was also low during the 3rd year following the wildfire (Fig. 2.6, Table 2.1). This was a result of very low rainfall during the 2005-2006 winter (Fig. 2.6), which also resulted in percent plant cover for the 3rd year being less than the 2nd year (Fig. 2.7). The lower 3rd year plant cover may have resulted in the slight increase of sediment seen on the gabbro sites (Fig. 2.6, Table 2.1). On the gabbro sites with high percent rock cover (Table 2.1), rills were observed forming below large rocks and boulders. This was thought to be due to raindrops being directed off the rock and concentrated in one area of the soil surface. The rills were more likely to form after intense storm events. An example of this was a small thunder storm on March 2, 2004 of 0.5” that resulted in a number of rills forming behind the gabbro silt fences. In this storm event, sediment

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production on the gabbro control site averaged 1300 kg ha-1, whereas on the granitic control site the average sediment production was only 600 kg ha-1 (Hubbert 2005). These results are opposite of the cumulative sediment production bar graphs shown in Fig. 2.6. Table 2.1. Total % cover (plant, stumps, litter, downed wood, and treatment) measured on Jan 29, 2004, Jun 7, 2004, Aug 7, 2005, and Jun 27, 2006 for the gabbro control and gabbro 50% treated, and the granitic 50 and 100% treated and control. Also shown is total cover with no rock cover accounted for.

Gabbro Control Gabbro 50% treated Cover type 1/29/04 6/7/04 8/7/05 6/27/06 1/29/04 6/7/04 8/7/05 6/27/06

Bare soil + gravel <3" 75.5 57.8 15.6 18.9 48.8 42.3 8.7 11.7 Rock (>3 in) 14.4 11.7 7.0 8.6 22.8 23.1 12.8 14.7 Stump 1.7 3.0 0.5 0.2 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.3 Litter 5.0 6.9 5.9 10.0 3.3 8.5 5.8 21.0 Downed wood 1.1 1.3 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.5 0.4 0.8 Treatment 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 19.9 4.7 0.0 0.0 Plant cover 2.2 19.9 71.3 61.4 2.7 19.7 72.2 51.1 Total cover (no rock) 10.2 31.1 78.5 72.6 28.0 35.0 78.6 73.2 Granitic 50% treated Granitic 100% treated 1/29/04 6/7/04 8/7/05 6/27/06 1/29/04 6/7/04 8/7/05 6/27/06 Bare soil + gravel <3" 68.9 69.0 23.3 32.5 32.5 50.6 12.2 18.6 Rock (>3 in) 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.9 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 Stump 1.2 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.6 1.0 0.1 0.0 Litter 1.7 6.4 7.7 17.8 1.7 6.7 12.3 14.8 Downed wood 1.1 0.4 0.4 0.9 2.3 1.0 1.1 1.2 Treatment 26.9 9.2 0 0.0 55.8 20.2 0.0 0.0 Plant cover 1.3 14.2 68.7 46.1 1.4 20.0 73.9 64.6 Total cover (no rock) 32.0 31.0 77.0 65.9 61.8 48.9 87.4 70.6 Granitic control 1/29/04 6/7/04 8/7/05 6/27/06 Bare soil + gravel <3" 91.2 71.8 26.4 32.7 Rock (>3 in) 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 Stump 1.2 0.6 0.0 0.1 Litter 5.8 7.4 10.0 12.5 Downed wood 1.3 1.5 2.6 1.6 Treatment 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Plant cover 0.3 19.9 61.0 53.0 Total cover (no rock) 8.5 29.4 73.7 67.1

Surprisingly, there was little sediment production during the period following the December 3, 2004 sediment cleanout of the silt fences as seen in the August 18, 2005 sediment cleanout (Fig. 2.6), even though over 30 inches of rain fell in January and February of 2005 (Fig. 2.5) and plant cover was probably well below the cover measured following 2005 spring growth. This implied that most of the unstable and unconsolidated material on the hillslope moved during the intense October storm events, and there was little left to erode during 2005. It also indicated that there was little overland flow generated during the high precipitation events of January and February,

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2005. One would expect saturated overland flow to occur as soil water holding capacity became maximized. Since the soils on average were ~80 cm deep, soil storage capacity would only be about 20 cm if allowing for ~0.25 volumetric moisture content. Therefore, it was evident that soil storage capacity was reached early in January, 2005, however there was little evidence of any surface erosion occurring from overland flow. This suggested that subsurface, preferential lateral flow was occurring, and rapidly removing water from the hillslopes and distributing it into the watershed drainages. This was probably enhanced by the abrupt boundary existing between the bedrock and the soil, without any extent of weathered bedrock between the two. Total cover excluding rock of ~30% was not adequate in protecting the hillsopes from erosion during the Oct. 2004 storm events on all sites except for the 50% treated gabbro and 100% treated granite derived soils. At these sites, total cover was ~35 and 49% respectively (Table 2.1) and erosion was reduced when compared to both the gabbro and granite controls (Fig. 2.6). Because of the high variability in natural systems (large error bars Fig. 2.6), it was difficult to determine statistically if hydromulch was successful or not when compared between the different treatments. Site variability included: (1) micro- and meso-topography of the contributing area (roughness), (2) macro-topography including both vertical and horizontal concave and convex slope shape, and both fluve and interfluce slope position, (3) aspect, (4) slope %, (5) elevation, (6) soil depth, (7) weathered bedrock extent, (8) soil and bedrock water holding capacity, (9) rock cover, (10) plant and litter cover, (11) duration and intensity of rain event, (12) antecedent soil moisture, and (13) soil water repellency. These factors controlled the onset, flow velocity, and extent of overland flow, which in turn, controlled the amount of soil erosion produced. In addition, the type of contact between the bedrock and the soil, and the degree of fracturing and extent of weathering of the bedrock influenced subsurface lateral flows. On the other hand, we were able to construct 54 silt fences that represented ~ 3.7 acres of hillslope positions. In this respect, the silt fence sediment data was sufficient in providing both competent information and trends describing the nature, success, and failure of the hydromulch treatment. Conclusions • Treatment cover was less than expected either strip or broadcast, cover achieved was 27% and 56% respectively. Implementation monitoring of this treatment is necessary to ensure that prescription coverage and contract specifications are met. • The soil cover levels that were achieved during the hydromulch treatment appeared to be effective in reducing erosion during mild rain events of the 1st winter on both gabbro and granitic parent materials. • Both treated and control granitic derived soils were more erosive than gabbro derived soils. • Total cover excluding rock of ~30% was not adequate in protecting the hillsopes from erosion during the October 2004 storm events. However, total covers of 35 and 49% reduced erosion during the same October rain events on both the 50% treated gabbro and the 100% treated granitic soils. This suggests that total coverage somewhere between 35 and 50% can limit erosion. • Hydromulch cover was greatly reduced following the 1st winter rains, and was completely gone from the site following the heavy winter rains of the 2nd year.

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• The breakdown of the hydromulch was faster than what was expected in the treatment prescription. If longer lasting mulch is needed for burned area protection and recovery, then other mulch materials need to be considered. • Because of its rapid breakdown, the hydromulch provided little protection to the hillslopes during the October 2004 storm events of the beginning of the 2nd year. Vegetation recovery

There are major gaps in scientific research concerning the use of hydromulch in wildland ecosystems, especially in regard to its effects on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. As the use of aerial hydromulch has increased at the wildland/urban interface, some concerns of its effects have emerged. The major concern that was addressed during this monitoring effort was the effect of hydromulch on post-fire plant recovery and post-fire species diversity. In both the1st year (Hubbert 2005) and this report, the aerial hydromulch showed little effect on overall plant recovery in respect to cover (Fig. 2.7). However, in the 1st year report, increases in percent cover for Calystegia macrostegia, Lasthenia californica, Crypthanta spp., and Bromus madrilensis sp. rubens were observed on the treated sites (Table 2.2). Some botanists believe that an increase in water holding capacity at the soil surface may favor invasive, shallow-rooted annuals over deep-rooted natives. Because of the rapid breakdown of the hydromulch, this effect on soil properties and plant response would be short term, in this case less than one year.

Fig. 2.7. Percent plant cover measured on January 29, 2004, June 7, 2004, August 7, 2005, and June 26, 2006.

Vegetation recovery monitoring was done in conjunction with sediment monitoring. We used the contributing boundaries that extended up from the silt fences for 100 ft on both sides as transects (Fig. 2.4). On the right side boundary, looking up from the silt fence, we sampled at 5 m, 15 m, and 25 m. On the left side boundary, we sampled at 10 and 20 m. At each sampling

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point, we placed a 1 m square frame on the surface that was separated into one hundred 10 cm2 grids. The following criteria was established to record the type of cover within each grid: rock <3 in, rock > 3 in, bare soil, grass, forb, stump, shrub, downed wood >2, downed wood <2, litter, and treatment. We sampled 5 plots at 56 silt fences for a total of 280 individual sampling sites. Plant cover increased slowly (reaching just above 20% on the 50% treated gabbro site) the 1st year following the fire because of the below normal winter 2003-2004 precipitation (Fig. 2.5 and 2.7). Following the very wet winter of 2004-2005, vegetation cover greatly increased at all sites, going above 70% cover at the 50% treated gabbro and 100% treated granitic site (Fig. 2.7). In Fig. 2.8, the added cover effect of the hydromulch treatment can be seen when added to the plant cover percentages. This can be observed more clearly when Figs. 2.7 and 2.8 are compared. However, hydromulch cover was greatly reduced by June 7, 2004, and provided little protection during the October 2004 storm events (Table 2.1).

Fig. 2.8. Percent plant cover plus hydromulch treatment measured on January 29, 2004, June 7, 2004, August 7, 2005, and June 24, 2006.

Fig. 2.9. Photo on left was taken shortly after fire on December 4, 2004 showing chamise skeletons. Photo on right was taken on August 18, 2005 and the rapid regrowth of the chamise can be observed.

Comment: Maybe this has been done somewhere else further on, but could you somehow display the soil cover levels and the erosion measured in one place by time period. I think that would be real valuable. Brent

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Cover type 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005ADFA 4.1 10.2 2.6 7.3 2.7 17.4 6.6 27.2 1.9 13.2ALLIsp 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0APAN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ARGL 0.5 4.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0Avena spp. 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0BRMA 0.0 3.3 0.2 5.7 0.0 9 0.0 1.1 0.2 2.3CACA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CAMA 2.5 18.2 10.6 30.2 0.5 3.1 0.1 1.2 0.0 0.0CAWE 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.0CECR 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0 1.4 0.0 0.1 0.2CEGR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CEMA 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.6 0.0 3.2 0.0 2.3CEME 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0CEOL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.4 2.1CHAR 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0CHFI 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CHPO 0.9 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.1CLPA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CLPE 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CNDU 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.2 5.2 0.7 1.2CRYPsp 0.0 6.1 0.0 1.6 0.0 12.5 1.0 12.4 0.0 1.3DICH 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.6 2.8 2.0 5.9 6.6 10.4ERCO 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0ERCR 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ERFO 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0GAVE 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0HASQ 0.0 1.6 0.1 0.6 0.0 0.3 0.0 1.7 0.7 2.4HEAR 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0HEFA 0.0 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0HEGR 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6HEMI 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.6 0.1 0.5 0.3HESC 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.7 6.1 0.1 6.0 0.7 2.3HIIN 0.0 0.1 0.5 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1HYGL 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1LACA 1.7 5.8 0.1 16.7 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LOGA 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.8 0.0 10.3LOSC 0.3 3.5 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.0 2.0 5.3 0.1 1.9LOSU 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.4 0.0MALA 0.5 1.2 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0QUBE 4.2 5.2 1.1 2.2 0.0 0.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0RACA 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0RHCR 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.2 1.1 4.8RHOV 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0SAAP 0.3 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1SAME 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1STLE 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0VUMY 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.3XYBI 0.2 0.1 0.8 0.3 2.5 5.4 0.6 1.0 3.7 3.2YUWH 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.6 1.8 1.5 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.0

Gabbro Control Gabbro 50% treated Granitic 50% treated Granitic 100% treated Granitic control

Table 2.2. Selected species % cover compared for all treatments on the gabbro and granitic parent materials between 2004 and 2005. Species not included here are located Appendix B. Species hi-lighted in blue are resprouters, those in red are considered invasive.

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Granitic 50% treated Granitic 100% treatedCover type 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

ADFA 10.2 16.2 7.2 14.2 17.4 19.8 27.2 37.6 13.2 21.6ALLIsp 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1APAN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ARGL 4.0 3.6 0.2 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1Avena spp. 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0BRMA 3.3 1.3 5.7 3.3 9 0.5 1.1 0.8 2.3 0.5CACA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CAMA 18.2 6.3 30.2 8.3 3.1 0.1 1.2 0.1 0.0 0.0CAWE 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CECR 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.8 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0CEGR 0.0 3.8 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.5CEMA 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 7.6 0.1 3.2 0.5 2.3 0.1CEME 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0CEMI 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CEOL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.0 1.3 2.1 6.8CHAR 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0CHFI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CHPO 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0CLPA 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CLPE 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CNDU 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 5.2 0.0 1.2 1.0CRYPsp 6.1 0.0 1.6 0.0 12.5 0.0 12.4 2.8 1.3 0.0DICH 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.8 0.8 5.9 0.3 10.4 0.1ERCO 0.2 2.8 0.2 1.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0ERCR 1.4 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ERFO 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0GAVE 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0HASQ 1.6 1.6 0.6 1.3 0.3 0.0 1.7 0.7 2.4 2.4HEAR 0.7 0.5 0.9 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0HEFA 0.5 0.9 0.4 9.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0HEGR 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.0HEMI 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0HESC 1.2 0.8 0.0 0.2 6.1 6.7 6.0 4.2 2.3 8.5HIIN 0.1 0.0 1.4 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0HYGL 1.2 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0LACA 5.8 0.1 16.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LOGA 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.4 0.8 0.5 10.3 0.0LOSC 3.5 6.2 0.5 4.0 0.0 5.4 5.3 7.7 1.9 0.0LOSU 0.9 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0MALA 1.2 1.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0QUBE 5.2 4.7 2.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0RACA 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0RHCR 0.5 2.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 1.1 4.8 4.4RHOV 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.0SAAP 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0SAME 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0STLE 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0VUMY 0.7 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.3 1.3 0.0XYBI 0.1 1.8 0.3 0.7 5.4 8.2 1.0 1.1 3.2 7.1YUWH 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.1 1.5 1.5 0.4 1.2 0.0 0.0

Gabbro 50% treatedGabbro Control Granitic control

Table 2.2a. Selected species % cover compared for all treatments on the gabbro and granitic parent materials for 2005 to 2006. Species not included here are located Appendix B. Species hi-lighted in blue are resprouters, those in red are considered invasive.

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Percent cover and recovery of individual species for 2004, 2005, and 2006 are included in Table 2.2 and 2.2a. For further information regarding plants included in Table 2.2 and 2.2a, please refer to Appendix’s A & B for the species code, genus species, common name, and plant form. Following the fire, chamise (ADFA – Adenostoma fasciculatum) skeletons dominated the landscape, both on the gabbro and granitic parent materials. Signs of basal resprouting of the chamise were observed about two weeks after the fire. In most cases, below ground lignotubers and roots were not killed by the fire and allowed for rapid recovery by providing nutrients and water to the resprouting plant. At all sites there was a large increase in growth of the chamise over the 3 years following the fire at all treatment sites and controls (Table 2.2, 2.2a, Fig. 2.9). The largest increase occurred on the granitic 100% treated site. Hydromulch may have played a role in this increase by maintaining higher levels of soil water later into the season.

Morning glory vines (CAMA - Calystegia macrostegia) exhibited strong growth after the 2004-2005 winter on the gabbro sites, but cover was much less on the granitic soils. For example, morning glory cover on the gabbro 50% treated site was 30.2%, whereas cover was only 3.1% on the granitic 50% treated site (Table 2.2). Goldenfields (LACA - Lasthenia californica) was also limited to only the gabbro soils, showing rapid growth after the 2004-2005 winter. In both cases, growth was most rapid on the treated sites. The disparity in growth of both species between the gabbro and granitic parent materials suggested a nutrient relationship inherent to mineralogical differences between gabbro and granitic soils. Of interest, catseye (Cryp sp. - Crypthanta spp.) was more abundant on the treated granitic soils. The increased growth of catseye appeared to be influenced by the hydromulch treatment. There was also a large increase in red brome (BRMA - Bromus madrilensis) on the granitic 50% treated site. Backgound information Gabbro, a dark large-crystalled rock, is derived from rocks formed when liquid magma cools slowly underground As the rocks are exposed and weathered, distinctive red soils are formed due to the presence of iron. Gabbro soils are rich in iron and magnesium, but low in phosphorus and calcium, and are slightly acidic. They also can contain heavy metals such as chromium and nickel. Gabbro soils are higher in clay than granitic soils and thus have greater water holding capacity, which resulted in more plant growth on the gabbro sites (Fig. 2.7). It does not appear that most chaparral species are affected by the low Ca and high Mg concentrations found on the gabbro. However, chamise tended to favor the granitic soils. Sensitive and endangered spp. that are restricted to Gabbro soils include: Parry’s tetracoccus (Tetracoccus dioucus), felt-leaved monardella (Monardella hypoleuca ssp. lanata), San Miguel Savory (Satureja chandleri), Otay manzanita (Arctostaphylos otayensis), and Dunn’s Mariposa Lily (Calochortus dunnii). One possible reason the above endemic plants are limited to gabbro soils is that they can tolerate high heavy metal concentrations, especially chromium and nickel. By tolerating the metals, they can limit any plant competition and survive. The spatial rarity of the endemics on the gabbro terrain may be due to the very few hot spots of heavy metals that occur within the gabbro boundaries. We did not observe any of the above species within the experimental plots. Because of their scarcity, however, it is possible that they were not picked up in the survey.

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Fig. 2.9. Picture credit: California Chaparral Field Institute Fig. 2.10. Vegetation regrowth following three fire intervals. Picture credit: California Chaparral Field Institute

During the 3rd year of monitoring following the very low rainfall of the 2005-2006 winter (Fig. 2.5), it was observed that most of the morning glory had died and was lodging over and forming mats on the ground. In Table 2.2a, morning glory cover had decreased from 18.2 to 6.3% on the gabbro control, and from 30.3 to 8.3% on the gabbro 50% treated. This dead litter was thick and difficult to walk through. Increased amounts of dead litter (Table 2.1) from accelerated growth and also from invasive annual grasses are a major concern to ecologists in the area. Large amounts of dead grasses and increased litter can carry fires through fire prone chaparral. Too short of intervals between fires can result in the elimination of the

chaparral community as resprouting species do not have time to recover (Fig. 2.10). In figure 2.9, on the far left, there is a 34-yr-old stand of chaparral established after the 1971 Laguna Fire, in the middle left one can observe chamise and deerweed recovery after the 2001 Viejas Fire, and on the right an area has been reburned during the 2003 Cedar Fire. In the area on the right, most of the resprouting shrubs have been killed and no obligate seeding species, such as ceanothus, are present (California Chaparral Field Institute). Conclusions • It appeared that both the 50 and 100% hydromulch treatments did not affect 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year percent plant recovery on either gabbro or granitic parent materials. Toward the end of the 2nd year, vegetation cover averaged >60% at all sites. • Percent cover of morning glory, goldenfields, catseye, and red brome all increased in the presence of hydromulch. • The accelerated growth of morning glory was possibly due to hydromulch providing additional moisture to the soil. • The initial application cover rates of hydromulch (30% - 50% treated and 51% - 100 % treated) were far below the projected cover amounts. • Erosion remained low the 3rd year as a result of very low rainfall during the 2005-2006 winter, and additional plant cover provided during the 2nd and 3rd years.

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Wind erosion - additional observations made regarding soil movement

Shortly following the fire, two major wind events occurred resulting in the removal of much of the ash layer and lesser amounts of the soil mineral layer. The 1st event in early November powered by strong Santa Ana winds deposited ash into the Pacific Ocean. This event was followed by a larger wind storm that occurred on November 27. In Figure 2.11, dust eroding from the fire scorched earth stretched from San Diego to San Clemente Island. Erosion from these two events was greater than any subsequent fluvial event over the next two years.

Fig. 2.11. A light brownish-red plume of dust from the San Diego County wildfires is visible blowing over the Pacific Ocean and San Clemente Island in this Nov. 27, 2003 false-color image from NASA's Terra satellite. In this image, newly burned areas appear red while vegetation is green, water is black, and clouds are light blue. Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory. The Santa Ana winds are warm, dry winds (a type of föehn wind) that commonly appear in Southern California weather during autumn and early winter. They are a result of air pressure buildup in the high-altitude Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. This air mass, pulled downward by gravity, empties out of the Great Basin into the surrounding lowlands. As the air is compressed during its descent, the air mass heats up due to adiabatic heating as it drops in altitude before reaching the Los Angeles Basin and western San Diego County at speeds approaching 35 knots. Wind speeds can surpass 35 knots when the Santa Ana winds are channeled through narrow mountain passes. The air circulates clockwise around the high pressure area bringing winds from the east and northeast to Southern California (the reverse of the westerly winds characteristic of the latitude).

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Fiber rolls (straw wattles) San Diego Country Estates /Ramona area Background

Fiber rolls are permeable barriers used to slow overland flow velocity, improve infiltration, and to a lesser degree capture and keep sediment on the slopes (Robichaud et al. 2000) (Fig. 2.12). Their primary purpose is to reduce erosion by breaking up the slope

Fig. 2.12. Fiber roll placement located at San Diego Country Estates. The fiber rolls are too closely spaced and they should not be placed across drainages.

length, thereby reducing the overland flow velocity of water. Fiber rolls are prefabricated from rice straw wrapped in tubular plastic netting. The rolls are about 9 inches in diameter, and are manufactured in lengths up to 25 ft. The treatment is expensive and labor intensive with a 25 ft long fiber roll weighing approximately 35 pounds and costing between $1100 to $4000 per acre (Napper 2006). They are designed for low surface flows, and should not be placed in drainages, gullies, or depression areas subject to high water flow.

Fiber roll installation

The 36 acre treatment area was located on Forest Service land within the San Vicente watershed located immediately above the southeast portion of San Diego County Estates (Fig. 2.1). The area was treated with fiber rolls to protect homes which abut

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Fig. 2.13. Failure of fiber rolls by undercutting and repair by backfilling

upslope Forest Service land. The treatment was implemented using hand crews. The major concern was increased flows from San Vicente Canyon and sediment loading of small tributaries and small drainages from the hillslopes.

Correct installation of straw wattles is important to their effectiveness. Fiber rolls need to have solid ground contact and be firmly anchored. Trenching and backfilling help anchor the fiber rolls to the ground and plus improve their ground contact. Fiber rolls are installed along the contour with slight upward angle at the lowest end of the fiber roll to promote ponding and infiltration at the mid-section of the fiber roll. Vertical spacing as to manufacturer’s guidelines was dependent on the slope gradient: 30 ft spacing for slopes 5 to 15%, 25 ft spacing for slopes 15 to 25%, 20 ft spacing for slopes 25 to 50%, and 15 ft spacing for slopes >50%. Most slopes treated were between 30 to 40%, ranging from <15 to 60%. Fiber rolls were installed in staggered rolls (checkerboard pattern) with an ~18 in overlap (Figs. 2.12). The fiber rolls were placed in trenches 3-5 in deep, backfilled on the upslope side, and staked using 6 stakes for a 25 ft roll.

Manufacturer’s guidelines for vertical spacing need further investigation and research. Hillslopes are not homogenous and can be highly dissected, with interfluve positions exhibiting either concave or convex landscapes. Slope roughness in relation to both micro- and meso-topography, additionally, can affect the velocity of water and deposition of sediment flowing and moving downslope. Further monitoring of fiber rolls is needed to determine correct spacing. Because of highly variability along slope runs, the current recommendations in fiber roll spacing appear to be too close.

Treatment effectiveness monitoring

Volunteer crews helped install the fiber rolls. Because of the intense foot traffic, the installation process probably resulted in the greatest ground disturbance experienced at the site. Many of the fiber rolls were placed incorrectly across natural drainage positions. Fiber rolls are supposed to be used on hillslopes and not installed within slope concavities or ephemeral drainage bottoms where runoff water may concentrate. During the 1st year winter storm events, most of these failed (Fig. 2.13). Problems continued when the fiber rolls were repaired by backfilling the

undercut portions with fresh hillslope material adjacent to the rolls. The next storm events removed this material as well, resulting in additional material being

transported off-site. Placement of the fiber rolls with their ends turned downward also caused problems. Rills formed at the edge of many of the down-turned rolls, contributing to increased erosion the 1st year.

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During the above normal 2nd year winter, precipitation in the San Diego Country Estates located near Ramona was relatively low as compared to the Alpine area. Looking at Figs. 2.5 and 2.14, there is a large drop-off in total precipitation as one heads inland. The Alpine area recorded 46.5 inches of rain from Oct, 2004 to April 2005 as compared to only 27.2 inches in the Ramona area during the same period. During the 3rd year winter of 2005-2006 (Fig. 2.14), little rain fell and there was no evidence of erosion on either treated or untreated sites. The lower rainfall averages of this inland area should have been taken into consideration before the treatment was prescribed.

Fig. 2.14. Monthly precipitation for the Ramona area of the Cedar Fire measured from October 2003 to July 2006. The chaparral vegetation recovered rapidly during the 1st winter as seen in Fig. 2.15, providing observed plant cover ranging from 15 to 25%. There was little accumulation of soil material on the uphill side of the fiber rolls after either the 1st or 2nd year winter storm events. There was also no sign of rilling or surface erosion on adjacent untreated hillslopes. This suggested that there was little hillslope movement of sediment during either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd years following the fire. In addition, because of the close placement of the fiber rolls, the energy of any overland flows was further reduced on the treated sites. It was possible that the fiber rolls promoted post-fire vegetation recovery during the 1st two years by allowing increased infiltration and storage of water on the hillslopes, and helped maintain soil water during the droughty 3rd year. By the 3rd year following the fire, observed plant cover was >50% in most areas (Fig. 2.15). Implementation of wattles is highly labor intensive. It was observed that foot traffic when transporting the wattles resulted in greater disturbance to the already fire-disturbed hillslopes.

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Fig. 2.15. On the left, photo sequence from top down (top) March 24, 2004, looking down main channel toward San Diego Country Estates. Fiber rolls placed on each side of drainage all the way to the Estates, (middle) same view on July 8, 2004, and (bottom) view on June 15, 2006. On the right, the same sequence of photos but taken from below water tank. The only erosion event of any significance occurred during the 1st major storm following the fire in December of 2003. Sediment that had been stored in the main drainage for years was flushed out and a small debris flow crossed onto Cathedral St. where the channel ended (Hubbert 2005). The channel abruptly ended at Cathedral St. with no culvert or place for sediment and water to

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go. Most of the sediment was deposited in the road or snaked around the corner and ended up in the driveway and lawn of the corner property. The condition still exists and it is unknown whether any further work will be done here. Conclusions • Because of low precipitation during the 1st winter, there was very little movement of sediment on the treated hillslopes. The above average 2004-2005 2nd winter resulted in only small movements of sediment on both treated and untreated hillslopes. This was partly due to the rapid growth of the resprouting chaparral species, which can be seen clearly in the photo point monitoring. • Fiber rolls promoted vegetation recovery by allowing increased infiltration and storage of water on the slopes. Photo points along the fiber roll installation locations indicated that natural revegetation was most successful behind the fiber rolls where the soil was stabilized. • Implementation monitoring of the fiber roll treatment is needed to confirm proper installation. • The fiber rolls successfully remained in place but many failed when placed incorrectly across drainage landscape positions. Fiber rolls that failed by undercutting should not be repaired by backfilling with fresh hillslope material. • The incorrect downward turning at the end of the fiber roll contributed to rilling observed on the site. • Vertical spacing of the fiber rolls needs further investigation. Based on three years of observation of the straw wattles at the San Diego Country Estates, lengthening the distance between wattles should be considered. More scientific data is needed to support and recommend the spacing criteria used, especially when considering the extra costs incurred. • Implementation of wattles is highly labor intensive. Foot traffic when transporting the watlles resulted in greater disturbance to the already fire-disturbed hillslopes. Road treatments Background Approximately 40 miles of Forest Service roads were affected by the Cedar Fire. Most were single lane, native surface roads, with simple drainage features of rolling dips and overside drains. Further background material can be viewed in the 1st year treatment effectiveness monitoring report (Hubbert 2005). A comprehensive road log is included in Appendix D. It lists the roads treated, the mile points of the treatments, the treatment prescribed, and whether or not the treatment was repaired. Although precipitation was above normal during the 2nd year winter, it was still low when compared to rainfall measured in the Piru and Old Fire areas. Rainfall during the 3rd year was far below normal (Fig. 2.5). Effectiveness monitoring On Anderson Truck Trail, repairs were delayed at times, sometimes not completed, and often removed by unsatisfied private property owners. There were numerous ongoing disputes

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occurring between private landowners and the National Forest. Road segments on private lands were not maintained to Forest Service standards, and following the fire, the road deteriorated further and needed restoration. In places, the private landowners had re-graded some of the

Forest Service property roads either in-sloping where it should have been out-sloped or out-sloping where it should have been in-sloped. Over the last two years, the Forest Service has been successful in restoring drainage function through grading and out-sloping, constructing rolling dips and overside drains, and placing rip rap at the end of existing overside drain flumes.

Most of the barbed-wire fencing and pipe barriers were still in place after the 2nd year (Fig. 2.17). In places, the fencing over-lapped and was unnecessary. In other areas, the terrain was inaccessible due to topography and vegetation and did not need fencing. Some accessible areas of wire fencing had been cut, but repaired.

Fig. 2.17. On the left are installed pipe barriers, and on the right barbed-wire fencing. The purpose of both treatments was to protect the burned hillslopes from OHV vehicles. The above average storm events of 2004-2005 resulted in failures of a number of treatments listed in the road log. Repairs were mainly limited to replacing or repairing damaged overside drains and lowering and re-grading rolling dips where necessary (Fig. 2.18). In figure 2.18, examples of overside drain failures are shown that were common after the 2nd year storm events. In most cases, little damage was done to the new drain, and reinforcing with rock and soil was all that was needed. Some grading of the rolling dips was also required. No culverts were recommended to replace the overside drains. Other than Anderson Truck Trail, the other roads treated (see Appendix B) were slightly used and upgrading treatments was not necessary. For the most part, upsizing of existing overside drains on Miner’s Road from 12 to 18 inches was effective. Because of low rainfall the 3rd year, no treatments were recorded.

Fig. 2.16. Aerial view of Anderson Truck Trail

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Fig. 2.18. Various examples of storm damage that that occurred during the 2nd year storm events.

Conclusions • Numerous overside drains failed after the above normal winter of 2004-2005. Reasons for failure included (1) size too small, (2), lack of reinforcement with rock and soil, and (3) flow from drainage entering road too large for an overside drain. However, the treatment was less expensive than replacing with a culvert. • Even though overside drains have a good chance of failure during intense and large storms, they can be termed successful in that they reduced water energy from the road and prevented much greater road damage. • For the most part, upsizing of existing overside drains on Miner’s Road from 12 to 18 inches was effective. • The OHV removable pipe barriers were successful in deterring OHV activity in areas where they have been placed. • Barbed wire fencing continued to be cut in accessible areas. It appeared that fencing alone did not act as a deterrent. It is recommended that patrols be added along with barriers or fencing as an added deterrent.

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• The pipe barriers worked fine, but were limited in use due to their expense. Some fencing was placed in areas that were already inaccessible due to topography. There was also unnecessary overlapping of the fence and barrier treatments. Improved planning would have saved the additional treatment costs. Noxious weeds

Monitoring for noxious weeds (invasive species) was completed for one year by Wendy Dobrowolski and is included in the 1st year treatment monitoring report under ‘vegetation recovery’ (Hubbert 2005). Because there was no occurrence of target species the 1st year, second and third year monitoring was not deemed necessary by the staff biologist. Invasive species termed a risk in the Cleveland National Forest are listed in Table 2.3. Table 2.3. Invasive species designated as posing a threat to ecological communities.

Non-Native Species

Resource at Risk Proposed Monitoring Fire

Alianthus altissima (Tree of Heaven)

Riparian corridor recovery in King Creek.

Monitor expansion of known population.

Cedar

Arundo donax (Giant Reed)

Riparian corridor recovery in San Diego River Valley.

Monitor expansion of known population and potential impacts to Least Bells Vireo habitat.

Cedar

Centaurea calitrapa (Purple Starthistle)

Listed species habitat on Viejas Mountain.

Monitor expansion of known population and potential impacts to Acanthomintia ilicifolia populations.

Cedar

Centaurea melitensis (Tocolote)

Listed species habitat on Viejas Mountain.

Monitor expansion of known population and potential impacts to Acanthomintia ilicifolia populations.

Cedar

Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust)

Listed species habitat within the San Luis Rey River Riparian corridor, establishment in areas utilized for suppression around the Mesa Grande Indian Reservation.

Monitor expansion of known population and potential impacts to Southwest Willow flycatcher populations.

Paradise

Spartium junceum (Spanish Broom)

Riparian corridor recovery in Sweetwater River, native chaparral.

Monitor expansion of known population.

Cedar

Tamarix spp. (Tamarisk)

Riparian corridor recovery in San Diego River Valley, Least Bells Vireo habitat.

Monitor expansion of known population and potential impacts to Least Bells Vireo habitat.

Cedar

Heritage resources Background A thorough and comprehensive 1st year monitoring report by Susan Roder of the Cleveland National Forest can be found in the 1st year treatment effectiveness report (Hubbert 2005).

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Effectiveness monitoring

Regular monitoring of all sites was recommended and continued until vegetation recovered and the chance of looting was diminished. Second year monitoring was conducted by Susan Roder on October 15, 2004. Because of rapid vegetation cover, third year monitoring was solely by observation. Excerpts of her report are included below: Site SDi-5842 (FS 05025400192) Second year monitoring conducted on October 15, 2004 noted no evidence of looting and little signs of soil erosion. The site is located adjacent to Lucas Creek on the south slope of a hill. Site SDi-8586H (FS 05025400275) The site is a historic mine (Figs. 2.49, 2.50). It is unknown whether all associated mining features have been recorded. The site shows no signs of erosion or erosion when monitored on October 15, 2004. Site SDi-9197 (FS 05025400076) The site was located within a “Penny Pines” plantation adjacent to State Route 1, Sunrise Highway, and consisted of numerous lithics. Ground cover was returning rapidly and obscuring the surface artifacts. There were no signs of soil erosion. Site SDi-8571 (FS 05025400244) The site consisted of bedrock milling features, pottery shards and lithics. A large oak tree which had fallen across the site needs to be removed. Vegetation was recovering and no looting had occurred, but because the site was adjacent to a Forest Service road, more monitoring was planned.

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Grand Prix and Old Fire San Bernardino National Forest

Background The Grand Prix Fire and Old Fires On October 21, 2003, the Grand Prix Fire began in Coyote Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountain Ranges, and consumed 2,500 acres in its first day. The fire had covered 52,000 acres above the communities of Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Claremont and La Verne by October 26, and had joined up with the Old Fire to the East, and the Padua Fire to the West (Fig. 3.1). Fanned by Santa Ana winds, the fire consumed ~60,000 acres while destroying 135 homes and causing one death. The Old Fire began on October 25, 2003, in the foothills of the San Bernardinos. The fires started on the southern slopes (front-range) of the San Bernardino Mountains at the lower elevations and spread into the upper elevation mountain areas near Lake Silverwood Reservoir and Lake Arrowhead. Within a day, the Old Fire burned in and around the San Bernardino National Forest, jumping the 215 Freeway near Devore to meet the Grand Prix Fire, resulting in a charred landscape from Claremont to Running Springs (Fig. 3.1). The Old Fire burned 91,281 acres, destroyed 993 homes and caused 6 deaths.

Fig. 3.1. ASTER imagery of the Grand Prix and Old Fires, acquired on November 18, 2003. The city of San Bernardino is south of the fires (Clark et al. 2003)

Arrowhead

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Fig. 3.2. Steep, incised topography representative of the front-range of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains.

The fires were active until November 14th, burning in coastal sage, chaparral, oak, and mixed conifer vegetation on primarily steep slopes at an elevation range of 1500-8800 feet. The fires varied in intensity across the landscape due to steep topography (Fig. 3.2), winds, and

plant geography. This resulted in a mosaic pattern of burn severity, especially at higher elevations. Of the 90,561 acres burned on National Forest Service land, 49,400 acres (55%) were rated as repellent. About 50% of the chaparral dominated soils were water repellent, and approximately 30% of the hardwood/conifer sites exhibited water repellency. However, the 1st rain events of ~1 inch wetted and infiltrated the soil a few days after the fire (Figs. 3.6, 3.13 and 3.14) indicating that the persistence of the water repellent layer was breaking down and/or water was moving preferentially through the water repellent layer. Calculated burn severity was: (low) 38,620 acres, (moderate)

47,394 acres, and (high) 53,177 acres (Ellsworth et al., 2003). Because of the close proximity to highly populated metropolitan areas and watersheds that drained into the Santa Ana River basin, Silverwood Lake (a reservoir used for the California aqueduct), Lake Arrowhead, and the Mojave River, the BAER team identified a number of values at risk. These included: threats to human life and property, water supply and water quality, habitat for endangered species, invasive species, roads, and heritage resource sites. To address the above risks, the BAER team identified the following objectives: (1) reduce threats to life and property from flooding and debris flows, and from hazard trees and rock fall, (2) transfer information to government agencies specifically affected, (3) reduce impacts to water supply, and (4) recover and protect habitat of listed species. To accomplish these tasks, the following treatments were planned: 1. Straw mulch applied by helicopter (hel-mulching) and hand applied straw mulch. 2. External coordination to expedite the placement of early warning systems. 3. Remove hazard trees 3. Straw bale check dams 4. Culvert cleaning, hazard signs, road closure gates, and storm patrol. Monitoring treatment effectiveness

During the 1st year of monitoring, precipitation was below normal and followed 5 years of drought (Hubbert 2005). Below normal rainfall resulted in low amounts of surface erosion at most of the sites monitored. This changed dramatically during the 2nd year of monitoring when record winter rainfall amounts were recorded at all treatment sites (Figs. 3.6, 3.13 and 3.15).

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Fortunately, we were able to continue the photo point monitoring of the hand-placed and heli-mulch straw hillslope treatments as well as the strawbale check dam channel treatments. In addition, we continued monitoring vegetation recovery at the City Creek heli-mulch site. Because road treatments were not completed during 2003-2004 time period, we were able to monitor the success or failure of the treatments in 2005 and 2006.

Land Treatments Land treatments included straw heli-mulching and hand-placed straw mulch. In Fig. 3, sites monitored are indicated by a red x. These included the east and west portions of the West Fork of the Mojave River (Lake Silverwood reservoir), City Creek, Hook’s Creek /Cedar Glen (Lake Arrowhead), and the front range near Devore. Soil and site characteristics for the treatment areas are included in Appendix E.

Fig. 3.3. Locations of hand and aerially applied straw mulch (red X’s). Sites that were monitored include the West Fork Mojave (Lake Silverwood), City Creek, Hook’s Creek (Lake Arrowhead), and Devore.

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Fig. 3.4. Straw bales breaking up as they are dropped from helicopter (Janicki 2002).

Straw heli-mulch

Approximately 600 acres west of Lake Silverwood and 1100 acres along the front range of the San Bernardino Mountains were heli-mulched. To immediately increase ground cover, weed-free rice straw was dropped on hillslopes along the West Fork of the Mojave River watershed adjacent to the lake. Reservoir water quality of the reservoir was identified as the primary value at risk, along with recreation use. The certified weed-free straw was applied at the rate of 1.5 tons per acre with ground cover expected at 70-90%. The average cost including helicopter, personnel, straw, trucking, salary and per diem was $750 per acre.

Straw mulch is a rapid and highly effective means of providing groundcover on high-severity burn hillslopes (Janicki 2002). Post-fire straw mulching provides ground cover protecting the

topsoil against soil particle detachment. It also maintains soil moisture, reduces hydrophobic soil conditions, lowers soil temperature, and disperses runoff through micro-topographic roughness. Straw mulch has been shown to be effective on slopes up to 55%, but less so on slopes >55%, as straw will begin to move downslope due to gravity. In the Lake Silverwood area, slopes were <55%, but >55% on most areas treated on the front range.

High winds contributed the most to straw mulch failure, either blowing the mulch offsite or

piling the straw in deep clumps so that vegetation was suppressed. The winds are common to the area and bear historical significance. In the 1905 “Soil Survey of the San Bernardino Valley”, the following statement was made, “Strong, hot winds from the interior desert regions to the east and northeast often sweep into the valley through the Cajon pass during the winter season. They are the famous ‘Santa Anas’ so well known to all of the inhabitants of this part of the state” (Holmes et al. 1905). Poor application of the straw mulch also contributed to the failure of the straw to provide cover. For best results, the large 800 pound hay bales were dropped from 200 ft above the surface (Fig 3.4). However, because of the unevenness of the terrain, the bales were either dropped too low and did not break up sufficiently resulting in piling or clumping; or were dropped too high resulting in uneven coverage and scattering beyond the projected treatment area (Hubbert, personal observation). It is important to consider the steepness and shape of the hillslopes while considering the use of aerial straw mulch application. Very steep terrain with very irregular or broken hill slope shapes can cause problems in achieving even distribution of dropped straw bales from helicopters. It is recommended that implementation monitoring of the treatment be conducted during application to guarantee uniformity of coverage.

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Photo point monitoring of heli-mulch at Lake Silverwood (straw mulch)

Silverwood Lake is located in the San Bernardino Mountains at the edge of the high Mojave Desert at an elevation of 3,350 feet (Fig. 3.5). Straw heli-mulching was prescribed to keep sediment yield to a minimum in order to protect water quality, life and property, and fishery and recreation uses of the lake. Silverwood Lake is a holding reservoir operated by the California Department of Water Resources that brings water from Northern California through the California aqueduct.

Photo points were established at the

following locations (treatment): • East Fork Mojave • West Fork Mojave

The area treated encompassed north-facing portions of the west fork of the ~4500 acre Mojave River watershed that drain into the Silverwood reservoir. Rock fragments and small boulders

covered up to 20% of the area (Fig. 3.8a). The pre-fire landscape was dominated by mixed chaparral, with the majority of the slopes ranging between 20 and 40% (Fig. 3.6). Of the 4500 acres, 60% was termed high-severity burn, 10% moderate severity, and 30% low severity. The first series of photos was taken between at various dates in November and the first week of December. The second series was taken between March 9 and March 12, 2004. The third series was taken between May 3 and May 6, 2004. The fourth and final series was taken between March 19 and March 21, 2006.

Winds were not as strong on the Lake Silverwood sites, as compared to the front range sites, so most of the straw cover stayed in place where dropped. However, the straw was clumped and piled deep, and the clumps appeared to be accumulating more straw likely due to swirling winds. This can be observed in both photo sets (Figs. 3.8 and 3.9). Straw cover immediately following the treatment never approached the 70-90% cover called for in the treatment prescription. There

Fig. 3.6. Straw heli-mulch cover of ~50% but concentrated primarily in two areas (arrows)

Fig. 3.5. Lake Silverwood before the fire. Photo credit: Jérôme Daoust

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were some areas where cover approached 50%, but for the most part cover was less than 30% based on ocular estimates. Because of below normal rainfall during the 2003-2004 winter (Fig. 3.7), there was little sign of erosion on the hillslopes. Thus, it was difficult to determine the contribution the straw made to erosion control.

Fig. 3.7. Monthly precipitation for the Lake Silverwood area of the Old Fire measured from October 2003 to July 2006.

Record amounts of rainfall fell during the 2004-2005 winter season with a total of 54.8 inches falling between October 2004 and March 2005 (Fig. 3.7). In both photo point sets (Figs. 3.8 and 3.9), plant cover increased substantially after the large rain events. It can also be noted that there was little straw cover visible on the ground in both Figures 3.8e and 3.9e. Most of the change observed in the 2006 photos can be attributed to the record rainfall of the 2004-2005 winter, and not the 2005-2006 winter when rainfall was much less (Fig. 3.7). In both photo sets (Figs. 3.8 and 3.9), it appeared that there was some inhibition of plant germination in areas where the straw piled deep. However, plant cover may have been promoted after the below normal rainfall of the 2004-2004 winter because the mulch was able to retain moisture in the topsoil (Fig. 3.8d). This probably played a minor role since most germination was only promoted at the edges of the mulch piles. The major problem observed with the straw mulch in the Lake Silverwood area was with straw delivery and application. It is apparent that the large bales did not break apart sufficiently to provide the 70-90% cover called for in the specifications. It would not be cost effective to apply straw at greater than 1.5 tons/acre. It is recommended that treatment monitoring of heli-mulch operations include guidelines for deep piling and clumping of straw, in addition to percent coverage obtained. Overall, the straw mulch was not cost effective in replacing the natural

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ground cover that was consumed by the fire in relation to preventing sedimentation of Lake Silverwood.

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Fig. 3.8. Photo-point time sequences of aerial straw mulch (heli-mulching) taken in the East Mojave River watershed that drains into the Silverwood reservoir. The photo sequence is in the following order: A - Nov. 15, 2003, B – Dec. 8, 2003, C - Mar 13, 2004, D – May 4, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

Fig. 3.9. Photo-point time sequences of aerial straw mulch (heli-mulching) taken in the West Mojave River watershed that drains into the Lake Silverwood reservoir. The photo sequence is in the following order: A - Nov. 15, 2003, B – Dec. 8, 2003, C - Mar 13, 2004, D – May 4, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

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City Creek heli-mulching and vegetation recovery

The entire watershed of City Creek was burned. In the upper parts of the watershed and on south facing slopes, there were concerns that non-native weed infestations weeds would continue spreading and displacing the native plant population. Table 3.1 shows the effect of straw heli-mulch on plant recovery and species occurrence, while Table 3.2 identifies invasive non-native plants and noxious weeds considered to be the greatest threats to the successful restoration of native vegetation following these fires. In the initial BAER 2500-8 report, no hillslope treatments were proposed on slopes steeper than 50%, and as such, most of the front country was deemed untreatable. The City Creek area was heli-mulched as part of the interim BAER 2500-8 report requesting approval of an additional 1000 acres of aerial straw mulch for placement on the front range above high value at risk areas (houses, roads, and public water supply). Slope limit was raised to 60% in the new request.

Fig. 3.10. Straw hel-mulch at City Creek blown into windrolls and deep piles. Photo was taken on February 2, 2004, a little over two months following the fire.

The survey was conducted at an elevation of 2,200 ft on the front range of the San Bernardino Mountains in the City Creek area off of Highway 330 (Fig. 3.3). An important aspect of monitoring was the possible introduction of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitalis) by way of the “certified weed free” rice straw used for erosion control. Following the Darby Fire of 2001 on the Stanislaus National Forest, 62 acres were heli-mulched with weed free rice straw and 63 acres of yellow starthistle were mapped the following year of 2002 (Clines 2005). There were further concerns that straw mulching would negatively affect vegetation recovery if it became

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deeply piled and clumped due to winds and poor application (Figs. 3.10 and 3.11). Thus, our monitoring goals were to determine the effects of straw heli-mulching on vegetation recovery and species diversity. Appendix C provides a list of plants found at the site. Methods Vegetative sampling transects were set up and sampled according to FIREMON guidelines. Four baseline points were determined for both the treatment and control areas. Five transects 26 m in length were located along each baseline, and were required to be ≥ 2 m apart. For vegetation sampling, a pin was dropped at every 0.5 m along the transect starting at 0.5 m and ending at 25.5 (end of transect line was at 26 m). For each pin drop, a ground cover (less than 0.5 m height) was recorded along with any vegetation that hit the pin below 1 m. The angle of the sampling pole was used for vertical placement. If a plant was hit basally, this was recorded as such. Plants were identified down to species level where possible. In addition, average height of a plant species and live/dead plant status were recorded along each transect. The live/dead plant status referred to the entire plant rather than the portion of the plant the pin hit. Results It is evident from Fig. 3.10 and Fig. 3.11 that the application of the heli-mulch did not provide the cover of >70% as prescribed in the prescription plans. The poor cover resulted from a

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Fig. 3.11. Straw mulch forming deep piles with vegetation growing at its perimeters. The mulch is effectively preventing the germination and growth of new vegetation. Photos taken spring of 2005. combination of poor application, steep slopes, and high wind events that immediately followed the treatment. In Fig. 3.12, the column graphs show that straw mulch was providing less than 20% cover to the hillslopes by the spring of 2004. By the spring of the 3rd year, straw cover

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was less than 5%. It appeared that the little cover given by the straw was at the expense of new plant growth. In areas where the straw mulch was piled deep, there were no signs of new emerging native seedlings, or non-native invasive weed species. However, we did observe Cercocarpus melitensis (tocalote) growing at the perimeters of the straw piles during late spring of 2005. Table 3.2 provides a list of wildland pest plants that displace natives and disrupt natural habitats. Fortunately, there was no sign of Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle) growing near the piles of straw (Table 3.1)

Fig. 3.12. Vegetation recovery measured at City Creek following the Old Fire. Sampling was conducted during late spring/early summer of 2004, 2005, and 2006. Columns represent bare ground, straw mulch, and plant cover.

In Table 3.1, plants considered invasive are highlighted in red. The frequency of occurrence and growth of Bromus madritensis, Centaurea melitensis, and Hirschfeldia incana appeared to be slightly influenced by the presence of the straw. From 2004 to 2005, infestations of Bromus madritensis increased from 2.7 to 20.0% on the treated sited, but also increased from 3.4 to 15.7% on the control site. Centaurea melitensis had expanded beyond pre-fire levels from 2004-2005, but also declined in frequency during 2006 (Table 3.1). In most cases, it appeared that the plants were influenced by the extra rainfall during the winter of 2004-2005 and the straw mulch was not a factor (Fig. 3.12). The declines were likely a result of reduced rainfall during the 3rd year. Because of the low amount of straw cover, there was little difference between plant recovery on the control and treated plots (Fig. 3.12).

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Frequency

Hght (m)

Frequency

Hght (m)

Frequency

Hght (m)

Frequency

Hght (m)

Frequency

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Hght (m)

0.3 0.23 0.3 0.39 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯

⎯ ⎯ 0.1 0.45 0.1 1.00 1.5 1.39 3.1 1.5 5.1 1.45⎯ ⎯ 0.1 0.44 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.7 0.7 ⎯ ⎯

⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.5 1.30 1.0 1.2 0.1 0.85 2.0 1.50.1 0.09 ⎯ 0.3 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯0.7 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 2.0 0.44 0.5 0.25 2.7 0.3 0.3 0.15⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 1.0 0.85 8.7 12.7 0.1 3.4 0.14 20.0 0.34 15.7 0.45 4.7 0.18 17.0 0.21⎯ ⎯ 0.1 0.44 ⎯ ⎯ 0.5 0.25 ⎯ ⎯ 0.1 21.7 0.10 1.0 0.05 16.7 0.54 19.7 0.65 4.0 0.4 5.5 0.44⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.3 ⎯ 1.0 2.3⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 1.0 0.52 3.3 0.99 2.7 0.82.0 0.4 4.7 0.26 7.7 0.50 4.4 0.47 3.0 0.3 2.4 0.35

Centaurea solstitialis ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯0.3 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.1 0.10.7 0.16 1.0 0.16 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.3 ⎯

⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.4 0.60 0.7 0.6 2.0 0.65 0.8 0.48⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.7 0.450.3 0.82 0.1 0.11 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯

⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.3 ⎯ 0.3 ⎯

⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.5 0.65 0.1 0.57 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯

⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 2.0 0.87 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯2.0 0.74 3.7 0.53 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.1 2.5⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 11.7 0.73 6.7 0.77 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯0.0 ⎯ 0.1 0.3 4.0 0.84 1.0 0.5 26.7 0.99 9.3 0.7⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯0.1 0.25 0.1 0.32 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯0.3 0.21 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯3.0 0.5 0.7 0.25 ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯

Quercus berberiifolia 0.3 0.43 0.1 0.53 1.0 1.05 2.3 1.14 3.3 1.7 1.7 1.95⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.3 0.97 0.0 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯

Salvia columbariae 0.3 0.3 ⎯ ⎯ 0.5 0.39 0.1 0.45 0.0 ⎯ 0.1 ⎯0.3 0.1 0.1 0.01 0.4 0.19 0.1 0.37 5.0 0.94 2.3 0.85⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.3 0.75 0.0 0.3 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯

Stephanomeria virgata ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ ⎯ 0.5 1.13 1.1 1.18 0.0 ⎯ 0.0 ⎯0.3 0.3 ⎯ ⎯ 7.0 0.49 1.7 0.33 1.1 0.2 2.3 0.3

Solanum xanti

Vulpia myuros

Eriogonium fasciculatum

Lonicera subspicata

Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia

Salvia apiana

Salvia mellifera

Helianthus gracilentus

Cercocarpus betuloides

Marah macrocarpa

Phacelia minor

Heliotropium indicumHirschfeldia incanaLonicera scoparius

Mirabilis laevis

Eriophyllum confertiflorum

Gnaphalium bicolorHazardia squarrosa

Cryptantha muricataErodium cicutarium

Treatment Control

Camissonia californicaCalystegia macrostegia

Ceanothus crassifoliaCentaurea melitensis

Bromus diandrusBromus hordeaceusBrassica nigraBromus madritensis ssp.rubens

Acourtia microcephalaAdenostoma fasciculatumArtemisia californicaAvena sp.

Genus & species

2004 2005 2006Treatment Control Treatment Control

Table. 3.1. The effect of aerially applied straw mulch on plant recovery and species occurrence. Plant cover was measured by the frequency of occurrence of individual species along a transect.

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Therefore, it was likely that straw did not affect plant recovery in this case. Plant cover was >25% by the spring of 2004, and <10% by late spring of 2005 on both the control and treated plots. Because the growing season on the front range of the San Bernardinos below 3,000 ft is early from December to March, it appeared that the initial BAER recommendation of no treatment was correct. Because of the low rate of coverage, the added mulch did not appear successful in preventing noxious weed spread, at least when compared to the controls. During the 1st year following the fire, most weed occurrences were associated with disturbances such as roads and dozer lines. Table 3.2. Invasive non-native plants and noxious weeds identified as the greatest threats to the successful restoration of native vegetation following the Grand Prix/Old Fire.

Scientific Name Common Name Known to Occur Invasive weeds

Acropitilon repens y Ageratina adenophora y Ailanthus altissma y Arundo donax Giant reed, Arundo y Brassica nigra Black mustard y Bromus hordeaceus y Bromus madritensis ssp rubens Red brome y Bromus tectorum Cheat grass y Centaurea maculosa y Centaurea melitensis Tocalote y Centaurea solstitialis y Chenopodium sp y Cirsium vulgare Bull thistle y Dimorphatheca sinuata y Erodium cicutarium y Foeniculum vulgare y Helianthus annuus y Lactuca seriola y Linaria genistifolia y Melilotus officinalis y Nicotania glauca y Pennisetum setaceum y Poa bulbosa y Riccinus communis Castor bean y Senecio mikanioides y Spartium junceum Spanish broom y Tamarix ramosissima y Vulpia myuros y

Annual grasses Avena barbata Slender wild oat y Avena fatua Wild oat y Bromus diandrus Ripgut brome y

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Fig. 3.13. Conifer die off due to bark beetle infestation and drought Lake Arrowhead. Photo credit: Landscape Communications Inc.

Conclusions • Wind was the main factor in determining final cover percentages for straw. On the front range, most of the aerial straw mulch was blown off-site by Santa Ana winds, resulting in cover percentages from 0 to 10%. In the Lake Silverwood area, straw remained on the ground, but had the tendency to clump and form mounds. Treatment cover in this area was <30%. • The straw heli-mulch failed to provide the ground cover that was prescribed in the treatment plan. • The wind blown straw formed deep piles on the hillslopes that prevented the germination and growth of plants. • There were problems with straw mulch application by helicopter. It was observed that straw bales did not sufficiently break up to provide targeted cover percentages over the steep slopes and irregular shaped topography. • For the most part, straw mulch did not affect plant recovery. By the 2nd year, the straw piles had become reduced in size. By the 3rd year at City, Cr., straw coverage was reduced to <5%. • Straw mulch should not be applied in areas that experience early growing seasons from December to March (such as below 3,000 ft on the front range of the San Bernardinos), because of excellent natural post-fire revegetation as seen in the photo point monitoring. • Straw heli-mulch should not applied in areas where high winds are known to occur. • Because of low coverage rates, straw heli-mulch was not cost effective. • Straw mulch should not be applied in areas that experience early growing seasons from December to March (such as below 3,000 ft on the front range of the San Bernardinos), because of excellent natural post-fire revegetation. • Overall, the straw heli-mulch treatment was determined to be unsuccessful in meeting treatment objectives of restoring soil cover, reducing erosion, and reducing sediment production. Hand applied straw mulch Monitoring of hand-applied straw was conducted at two locations: Hook’s Creek and Front Range Devore. Hook’s Creek/Cedar Glen

During the morning and afternoon of

October 29, the fire approached the resort town of Lake Arrowhead, burning rapidly through drought and bark beetle infested dead and dying trees (Fig. 3.13). The fire moved up Hook Creek Road which leads into the community of Cedar Glen and destroyed everything in its path. The narrow canyon was dotted with peak-roofed homes nestled amid tall trees that gave Cedar Glen its name. Hand-mulching with straw at a cost of $1200 per acre was applied to the slopes adjacent

to the Hook’s Creek watershed above Cedar

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O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J

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Lake Arowhead - Hooks Cr. rain events

Glen, although there was little left to protect and the slopes were moderate (Fig. 3.15). There was evidence of high burn severity on the crests.

White Bark Beetle infestations follow a natural cyclic pattern associated with drought and have been a long-standing concern to many area residents, whose homes are located in and around National Forests. In this regard, it was fortunate that most of the Grand Prix and Old Fires burned through chaparral in the foothills, and not the trees killed by bark beetles. However, the removal of dead trees and brush in and around the 820,000-acre San Bernardino National Forest will remain a significant long-term concern. Straw was hand-placed at 1 ton/acre (appeared greater) and initially provided almost 100% cover (Fig. 3.15). In Figure 3.15, it can be seen that the straw cover has persisted in most of the treated areas until the present due to low winds in the area. From the photo sequence in Fig. 3.15, it can be observed that the straw mulch has effectively inhibited the germination of any natural or noxious plant species through March 13, 2004. By May 29, 2006, only a few plants can be seen germinating (Fig. 3.15e). This was surprising in that record precipitation occurred a year earlier during the 2004-2005 winter (Fig. 3.14). The bar graph in Fig. 3.14 shows precipitation in inches from October 2003 through July 2006.

Fig. 3.14. Monthly precipitation for the Hooks Creek/Cedar Glen area of the Old Fire measured from October 2003 to July 2006.

In this area, the hand-applied straw mulch has maintained effective cover over a 3-year period, but it appeared that new plant growth had been inhibited. The lack of plant recovery could be attributed to a reduced seed bank, however plant recovery was observed in untreated areas adjacent to the treated sites.

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Fig. 3.15. Photo-point time sequences of hand-placed straw mulch taken Hook’s Creek near Lake Arrowhead.. The photo sequence is in the following order: A - Nov. 15, 2003, B – Dec. 8, 2003, C - Mar 13, 2004, D – May 4, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

A

B C

D E

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Grand Prix/Old Fire Devore rain events

Front range near Devore The hand-mulch straw was applied in an area previously covered by chaparral dominated by chamise. The chamise that cover the hillslopes at the lower elevations of the front range are well-adapted to fire. Due to steep topography and rough landscapes, fire intensities varied across the landscape creating a mosaic pattern. Because of the resprouting nature of the chaparral, the burned areas located at lower elevation were expected to recover in 2-5 years. As seen in Fig. 3.17a, chamise skeletons were left intact following the fire. The bar graph in Figure 3.16 shows precipitation in inches from October 2003 through July 2006. It is important to note that the five years preceding the fire was a drought period with each year experiencing below normal rainfall. During the winter of 2004 and 2005, record rainfall totals were recorded for October 2004 through April 2005.

Fig. 3.16. Monthly precipitation for the Devore area of the Grand Prix Fire measured from October 2003 to July2006.

This site should not have been treated because it was in an area near the Cajon Pass that was known for high winds, and treatment was occurring during the time of year when the Santa Ana winds were most prone to occur. In the photo set of Fig. 3.17, photos a & b show the site shortly after the straw mulch has been applied. The original cover of >70% is not seen in the photos because it had been blown away by Santa Ana winds. The little straw (estimated at 0 to <10%) that was left on the ground was wrapped around the basal portions of the chamise skeletons. In Fig. 3.17 (photos c, d, and e), there were no major signs of erosion, even though record rain events occurred during the 2004-2005 winter. This was in part due to cover provided by the rapid recovery of the chamise chaparral (Fig. 3.17). No erosion was noted during the 3rd year of monitoring because of the below normal rainfall (Fig. 3.16).

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Fig. 3.17. Photo-point time sequences of hand-placed straw mulch taken on the front range near Devore. The photo sequence is in the following order: A - Nov. 15, 2003, B – Dec. 8, 2003, C - Mar 13, 2004, D – May 4, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

A

B C

E D

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Conclusions • Hand-placed straw mulch provided the ground cover that was prescribed in the treatment plan when the area was not subject to high winds. • Straw mulch affected plant recovery when it remained on the ground and accumulated in deep piles. • Hand-placed straw mulch should not applied in areas where high winds are known to occur. Channel treatments Deer Creek Nudist Camp strawbale check dams

Straw bale check dams are designed to trap and stabilize sediments mobilized from the hillslope and channels. They function only as temporary erosion control measures that are placed in ephemeral channels with moderate gradients. In the best case scenario, stored sediments are slowly released over a period of 1-3 years as the straw check dam materials slowly deteriorate. In theory, properly constructed checkdams prevent downcutting and attenuate peak flows by routing water through a series of small basins (Napper 2006). However, this was not the case in regards to the checkdams above the Deer Park nudist camp.

Fig. 3.18. Entrance to Deer Park Nudist Resort. Note two steep canyons immediately behind camp. Buildings of the camp extend beyond the trees to the National Forest border.

After the Christmas Day storm of 2003 (Fig. 3.16), sediment completely filled to storage capacity all the checkdams (Fig. 3.19b). Once the checkdams were filled with sediment, water was free to flow over the dams with no loss of energy. This resulted in severe downcutting below the dams (Fig. 3.20b). Vegetation recovery was rapid in the spring of 2004, as the sediment behind the checkdams

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provided nutrient and moisture. In this respect, the checkdams were successful in their operation (Figs. 3.19c and 3.20c).

However, rainfall exceeding 4 inches fell during the month of October 2004 causing the failure of a number of check dams. (Figs. 3.16 and 3.20d). Rainfall continued at record levels through the winter with precipitation above 20 inches in January of 2005. The heavy rains resulted in the failure of all the checkdams. Most of the released sediment settled in an alluvial fan at the bottom of the canyon situated next to and above the resort. A berm had been constructed by the resort below the fan and was successful in preventing the sediment/mud flow from moving into the resort. Vegetation cover dramatically increased during the spring of 2005 because of the heavy winter rains. The heavy vegetation cover can be seen in the last photo point pictures taken in May of 2006 (Figs. 3.19d and 3.19e). This has provided important cover and some soil stability to the channel. Storm cutting of sediment deposited during the winter of 2004-2005 is still continuing

Fig. 3.19. Photo-point time sequences showing strawbale checkdams placed in the main channel above the Der Creek nudist resort. The photo sequence is in the following order: A – Dec. 3, 2003, B - Mar 10, 2004, C – May 3, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

C D

BA

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Fig. 3.20. Photo-point time sequences showing strawbale checkdams placed in the main channel above the Der Creek nudist resort. The photo sequence is in the following order: A – Dec. 3, 2003, B - Mar 10, 2004, C – May 3, 2004, and E - May 29, 2006.

A

B C

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to occur. Because of the very steep headwaters of the main channel and side channels, it was unwise to place any structure in these drainages. They were prone to failure. In the photo points of 2006, most of the erosion and plant recovery can be attributed to the 2nd year 2004-2005 winter. Rainfall in the 2005-2006 was below normal (Fig. 3.16), and this resulted in little movement of sediment during the 3rd year. For historical comparison, Booker and Dietrich (1998) monitored straw check dams in 3 fire areas after the Old Topanga Fire of 1993, and reported that initially the dams had less than a 50% success ratio, with total failure by the second year. They suggested that temporary structures should not be used in catchments with drainage areas greater than 1 hectare (2.4 acres). They noted that the strawbale dams failed because of piping, dam faces being undermined by flow over the structure, and destabilization of channel banks due to localized flow. Conclusions • The straw bale check dams were successful in storing sediment and providing water and nutrients for plant recovery during the 1st year of below average rainfall. • Vegetation established during the spring of 2004 during the 1st somewhat stabilized portions of the stored sediment before the October storms. • Bedloading of the channels behind the checkdams allowed water to flow unimpeded, resulting in severe downcutting below the checkdams. • During the record setting storm events of the winter of 2004-2005, all of the check dams failed by completely blowing out. In many cases, there was no sign of any strawbales. • In agreement with Booker and Dietrich (1998), it was concluded that strawbale check dams should not be placed in any catchment with a drainage area greater than one hectare. Road treatments Background

A total of 125 miles of Forest Service roads were surveyed. Treatments prescribed by the

BAER team included: culverts, trash racks, closure gates, one “Angeles gate”, hazard advisory signs, storm patrol, and OHV control/ patrol. Hazard advisory signs were placed on roads and other access points to the fire area warning the public that they were entering a burned area subject to flooding and debris flows.

Road treatments were limited to culvert cleaning, overside drain installation, trash racks, closure gates, hazard warning signs, and storm patrols. Post-fire field reviews of roads and trails were performed from 10/31/2003 through 11/05/2003, and a road log was developed (Appendix D). It was decided that the existing drainage structures (primarily consisting of rolling dips and overside drains) and maintenance strategies would be able to minimize potential debris flow and provide an adequate level of flood flow protection. The potential for road erosion was rated as low risk because of good engineering at the time the roads were constructed. Because of both design and maintenance, road drainage was considered up to date at the time of the fire. Because of delays in the contract process, road work was delayed until mid-summer of 2004. The delay resulted in no monitoring of the treatments during 2003-2004.

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Debris removal To protect repaired low water crossings, overside drains, and culverts from failure, accumulated material and sediment deposited on the road and in the channels by movement of dry ravel was removed. Dry ravel was observed occurring on virtually all slopes steeper than 55%, accumulating in drainage bottoms and on road surfaces (Fig. 3.21). Background information Dry ravel is simply the unconsolidated flow of dry soil particles under the influence of gravity. Where the slopes exceed the angle of repose for the soil (maximum angle at which unconsolidated material generally remains stable, usually slopes ≥ 55-60%), any disturbance, even wind, can initiate this dry erosion process. During wildfire, the natural barriers of litter and standing plants that retard ravel material are consumed. The newly liberated surficial rock fragments and fine earth materials move downslope by gravity. As a result, road surfaces and intermittent and ephemeral stream channels become loaded with sediment. The accumulated material is flushed out during subsequent major storm events and can result in damage to downstream structures, roads, culverts, and overside drains. Clearing the roads of ravel material was an ongoing process on mountain roads located in the burn areas.

Fig. 3.21. Two views of dry ravel accumulation on Bailey Road. Culvert cleaning and trash rack installation The main objective of culvert cleaning was to ensure maximum flow to those culverts located in channels at risk from flooding and/or debris flows (Ellsworth et al. 2003). The removal of accumulated sediment to maintain culvert capacity prior to and during seasonal storm events can reduce the risk to the culvert and the road infrastructure. By cleaning the culvert and nearby

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Fig. 3.21. Culvert before being cleaned out.

Fig. 3.22. A replaced overside drain located on Bailey Road.

contributing area, loss of storm water control resulting from clogged or insufficiently cleaned out culverts can be prevented. Debris was mechanically shoveled from culverts and channel basins and then placed outside the channel to prevent it from re-entering.

Monitoring of the culvert cleanout showed that the treatment was successful during 2005 and 2006. No major failures were recorded or reported on any of the Forest roads that were treated. This was surprising in light of the record rainfalls recorded in the winter of 2004-2005. In addition, trash racks placed in high severity burn areas were successful in catching debris generated

by storm events. Overside drains

After the winter of 2003-2004, it was deemed necessary to repair and replace many of the overside drains situated on Bailey Canyon Road. This road is an important access road to

Silverwood Lake from the southern front range side of the San Bernardino Mountains. The road log identifying the locations of these treatments is included in Appendix A. Overside drains aid in reducing and maintaining the control of water in concave topography (Napper 2006). They are usually associated with rolling dips, drainage crossings, and where embankments need protection. With rolling dips, the main purpose is to reduce the energy of the water by getting it off the road and down the hillslope. Drain extensions were used to place the water further downslope to prevent backcutting of the slope. Monitoring conducted on Bailey Canyon Road

during 2005 and 2006 indicated that the treatments were holding up and were successful.

Hazard warning signs and closure gates

Closure gates were installed at all locations identified by road engineers as critical to controlling access to points that would endanger the public to rockfall, washouts, hazard trees, and flash flood events (Table 3.3) (Fig. 3.23) (Ellsworth et al. 2003). Another important purpose of the gates was to limit public access of unauthorized off-highway-vehicles (OHV’s). The

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Fig. 3.23. View of new gate and warning sign located at Lower Lytle Creed Divide.

OHV’s are a large scale resource problem and results in significant resource impacts. Because of the close proximity of 20 million people and 80 miles of urban interface, the Forest, thousands of acres have been degraded from past OHV use. A total of 15 gates were installed and were functioning as planned. Monitoring during 2005 and 2006 showed that some of the gates had been damaged by ramming. Gates at Bailey Truck Trail were in need of repair or complete replacement. Monitoring of road closures, gate access, and OHV activity is an ongoing process and has been successful to date (personal communication Gina Richmond USFS Big Bear Ranger District).

Table 3.3. Location and function of BAER funded gates Road No. Road Name Functioning BAER Comments/Remarks

1N09 City Creek yes 1 At Bear Creek (Angeles Gate)

1N22 Daley yes 1 Public Safety – Gate at City Creek

1N32 Edison Rd Section 3 yes 1

Public Safety – Gate near Lytle Creek

2N03 Burnt Mill yes 2 Both ends 2N43 Sawpit Canyon yes 2 Public Safety – 2 gates

2N49 Bailey Truck Trail no 2 Public Safety – both ends

2N52 BP&L yes 1 Public Safety – at 2N53

2N57 Old CCC Spur yes 3 Public Safety – off Lytle Creek Road

2N75 Ash Meadow 3 2W01 (Motorcycle Tr) yes 1 (Angeles Gate)

3N31 Lower Lytle Crk Divide yes 2 Public Safety – both ends

Conclusions • Where steep slopes occurred, dry ravel was a major problem to roads. Removal of debris from the roads was an ongoing treatment problem. • Due to bedloading of channels by dry ravel, culvert cleanout was an important necessity. • Overside drains and extensions were successful in preventing further erosion by reducing the velocity of flowing water.

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• Hazard warning signs and gate closures were successful in protecting the public and also in protecting fragile burn areas and heritage sites. • Patrolling roads for illegal access by OHV’s was successful. Noxious weeds

Monitoring for noxious weeds (invasive species) was conducted during the 1st year by Scott Eliason and Katie VinZant, and is included in the 1st year treatment monitoring report within the Grand Prix/Old Fire section (Hubbert 2005). A summary of findings follows: Infestations of the target weed species Ailanthus altissma, Centaurea melitensis, Cirsium vulgare, Helianthus annuus, Nicotania glauca, and Spartium junceum were most prevalent in the areas surveyed. Centaurea melitensis and Spartium junceum covered large acreages, and the eradication process was ongoing. Foeniculum vulgare, Riccinus communis and Tamarix ramosissima were also detected and removed. Large infestations of Brassica nigra, Bromus diandrus, Bromus madritensis, Bromus tectorum and Erodium cicutarium were also identified. Most of the infestations were associated with roadsides, bulldozer lines and drainages near human habitation, and not post-fire treatments. In most cases, there was little evidence that the BAER post-fire treatments introduced or encouraged weed infestations. Fire disturbance aided the spread of weed infestations that were already present before the fire either in the seedbank or in near proximity of the burn. There was also no indication that BAER treatments significantly discouraged weed infestations. Weed species found were likely present in most of the areas seed banks, and released from competition following the fire. Infestations of Centaurea melitensis, Brassica nigra, Bromus diandrus, Bromus madritensis, and Bromus tectorum had expanded beyond the pre-fire levels. The perennial Nicotania glauca was found to be recolonizing previous populations. Weed infestations were decreased in areas where straw was >1 inch deep, but was limited to the patchiness of the straw piles. Uncovered dozer and hand lines exhibited high infestations of noxious weeds, but infestations were greatly reduced where dozer and hand lines had been rehabilitated (in other words, where erosion control and noxious weed control was implemented). Invasive species termed a risk in the San Bernardino National Forest are listed in Table 3.2.

On the front range of the San Bernardino National Forest, the top ten weed species are: Tamarix ramosissima-saltcedar, Spartium junceum-Spanish broom, Foeniculum vulgare-fennel, Ailanthus altissima-tree of heaven, Arundo donax-giant reed grass, Rubus discolor-Himalayan blackberry, Centaurea solstitialis-yellow star thistle, Ricinus communis-castor bean, Centaurea melitensis-tocalote, and Cirsium vulgare-bull thistle. In addition, there are major problems with Bromus tectorum-cheatgrass, Bromus madritensis-red brome, Bromus diandrus-ripgut brome, Avena sp.-wild oats, and Brassica nigra-black mustardmoving into chaparral habitat. Increased weed infestations were commonly observed in areas of fire suppression activities. After the 2003 Grand Prix/Old Fire, fire roads were the most infested with weeds such as tocalote, Spanish broom, fennel, castor bean, ripgut brome, red brome, wild oats, and black mustard. It was likely that most of these weeds were already established along roadsides pre-fire, but were able to spread into new areas because of lack of competition post-fire. Dozer lines, safety zones, and hand lines were the second most infested areas with ripgut brome, red brome,

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wild oats, tocalote, bull thistle, and black mustard being the most common weed species observed. Fewer infestations were observed in these areas when rehabilitated with slash. Over the years, pre-fire seed banks of invasive weed species have increased in quantity and area covered. Most of the invasive weeds are prolific seed producers and can remain viable for lengthy periods of time. All of the above mentioned weed species respond well to fire. In most cases, the non-native grasses, black mustard, yellow star thistle, and tocalote grow faster than the native species. In addition, some of the weed species also re-sprout post-fire such as saltcedar, arundo, Spanish broom, fennel, tree of heaven, and Himalayan blackberry, giving them a pretty good head start as well. Heritage resources

Treatments were designed for the heritage resource sites that were most in danger of flood and erosion damage. Sites identified were: CA-SBr-485, CA-SBr-1595, CA-SBr-3003, CA-SBr-3866, A-SBr-5683, and CA-SBr-10569. The drainage was redesigned at CA-SBr-485 (Deep Creek) with the addition of erosion cloth to keep water out of the archaeological site located in an eroding gully adjacent to Forest Service system road 3N34. The Deep Creek heritage site contained numerous bedrock milling features, groundstone tools, obsidian debitage, and midden deposits. This site has maintained its integrity to the present time. The archaeological site CA-SBr-1595 (San Sevaine Indian Rock Camp was used for habitation and numerous bedrock milling features, groundstone tools, and midden deposits are present. This area was closed to the public to allow vegetation recovery that would obscure the surface artifacts. Plant recovery has been rapid in the area and the treatment termed successful. The access to CA-SBr-3003 (San Sevaine Indian Rock Camp) was closed to the public. No artifacts were observed during reconnaissance of this site and further inspection was needed. The heritage site CA-SBr-3866 was also closed to the public to protect it from vandalism and OHV traffic, and to allow vegetation to re-grow and obscure artifacts. The property, located on the Mud Flats fan deposit, consists of midden deposits and lithic debitage. Treatment has successfully prevented vandalism and damage to the site. Road access to both CA-SBr-5683 and CA-SBr-10569 was closed to also protect these sites from vandalism. The site CA-SBr-10569 is a prehistoric house ring. Treatment has been successful up to the time of this report.

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Piru Fire Los Padres National Forest

Background The Piru Fire started on Oct 23, 2003 along the west shore of Lake Piru, continuing to burn in and around the Los Padres National Forest. The fire grew quickly due to the hot and dry Santa Ana wind conditions spreading through the Santa Susana Mountains near Santa Clara, California, northwest of Los Angeles. The fire burned a total of 63,991 acres in very rough and inaccessible terrain between Lake Piru and northwest Fillmore. A total of 32,534 acres burned were on National Forest land (Fig. 4.1). Major values at risk included the Lake Piru reservoir, Sespe oil fields, and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary (Fig. 4.1). Primary treatment concerns involved keeping road access to the Sespe oil fields and Condor Sanctuary open, and preventing siltation of the reservoir. The BAER team mapped burn severity as: low – 19,713 acres, moderate – 28,839 acres, and high – 1596 acres. Soil water repellency was mapped on 30,335 acres (Fitzgerald 2003).

Fig. 4.1. The boundary of the Piru Fire is outlined in red. .

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Land treatments Natural processes

Because most of the slopes were >60% within the fire boundary, and only 1,596 acres were mapped with high burn severity, no hillslope treatments were prescribed (Fitzgerald 2003). Terrain within the fire perimeter was noted for its high natural background erosion rates due to the unstable lithology, structure, and steep topography (Fig. 4.2).

Fig. 4.2. Steep terrain that was common to the Monterey and Sisquoc geologic formations found within the Piru Fire perimeter. Photo credit: Allen King

Major erosion events that occurred during the 2nd and 3rd year following the fire were dominated by soil slips and slope failures. Soil slips that occurred in 2006 can be observed in Fig. 4.3.

Fig. 4.3. Soil slip scars above Squaw Flat Rd. Failures occurred in 2005. Photo credit: Allen King

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Movement of soil due to landslides, soil slips, and mass failures is a common occurrence in Monterey and Sisquoc geologic formations. These erosion processes were magnified the 2nd and 3rd year during the heavy rains of the 2004-2005 winter (Fig. 4.4). Because of a lack of transpiration the 1st year following fire, antecedent moisture conditions were probably higher than normal in the soil and rock following the dry summer of 2004. Therefore, water storage capacity was reached rapidly in the shallow soils and highly weathered bedrock. The soils, classified as Lithic Xerochrepts-Lithic Haploxeralfs-Rock Outcrop complex (Soil Survey, Los Padres N.F.), were high in clay and could hold high amounts of water.

Fig. 4.4. Monthly precipitation for the Piru RAWS station measured from October 2003 to July 2006. As the soil and highly weathered bedrock became saturated, the overburden pressure was increased. At the point when the coefficient of friction was overcome at the contact point between hard bedrock and soil/highly weathered bedrock, the slopes failed and the slides resulted. Land treatments were not designed to prevent the slips observed in Fig. 4.3. The fire left a mosaic pattern of scattered islands of vegetation that did not burn (Fig. 4.2). Mosaic patterns were a result of steep slopes, numerous drainages, wind patterns, spatial variability of fuel and soil moistures, and variability in fuel loads. The rugged topography influenced the distribution of vegetation and this played a large role in only 1,596 acres being classified as high burn severity. First, 2nd, and 3rd year natural recovery was rapid throughout the burn area. During the 1st year, >95% of the oaks were resprouting both basally and aerially even though precipitation was low during 2003-2004 winter (Fig. 4.5). Canyon live oaks present were vigorous resprouters and were well adapted to fire. In most cases, post-fire vegetation recovery was under estimated. In Fig. 4.6, cover was abundant only 15 months following the fire. We witnessed >60% cover on the Cedar Fire after only two years.

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Fig. 4.5. Photo on left – oaks 11-21-2003. Photo on right – oaks resprouting 6-22-2004. Vegetation recovery was expected in three years. However, because of the record setting winter of 2004-2005, plant cover was relatively abundant by the spring of 2005 (Fig. 4.6), only 15 months following the fire. Fig. 4.6. Plant cover established early after the 2004-2005 winter. Photo taken in late winter of 2005. Photo credit: Allen King

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No treatment alternative There is a definite need to monitor post-fire areas where no treatments are prescribed.

The capability of wildlands to recover without treatments needs to be documented. BAER assessment teams unfamiliar with recovery periods would benefit from monitoring information that documents the natural recovery. Monitoring untreated hillslopes would validate if the erosion potential, determined by the team, was accurate. Both erosion and sediment potential define the emergency, based on the values at risk (Napper 2005)

In the case of the Piru Fire, the BAER assessment team did not propose any hillslope treatments for the following reasons: :

• Existing direction in FSM 2523.03 states “undertake stabilization treatments only when an analysis shows that planned actions are likely to substantially reduce risks and are compatible with land and resource management plans and wilderness management objectives.” The team felt hillslopes treatments within the burn were not compatible with the FSM direction, and treatments would not reduce the risks (Napper 2005).

• Current information on effectiveness of hillslope treatments in Southern California demonstrates reduced effectiveness due to the following:

o high winds that remove cover treatments o steep slopes with dry ravel o large quantities of stored sediment in channels (which will be mobilized by the

increased flows from burned watersheds and for which there are often no effective or practical treatment alternatives).

o limited ground access to sites (Napper 2005). There is current direction in FSM 2500 (2523.3 Monitoring) that states; “Monitoring of recovery may be done in certain cases to evaluate if subsequent treatments are warranted where values at risk were identified, but no treatment measures were implemented, due to concerns regarding effectiveness or practicality.” In the wildlands monitored, vigorous natural plant recovery was observed indicating that whatever effects the wildfire had on soil productivity were not significant. Channel treatments Log check dams Background Check dams are designed to trap and store sediment mobilized from the channel (Napper 2006). They are also used as grade control structures to prevent downcutting, headcutting and gully action, which in theory also effectively prevents the generation of new sediments in burned-area channels. Structures are designed with no defined spillway and attempt to match the morphology as the original channel. The dam is designed such that it will pass a design flood. In theory, sediments are permanently stabilized on a level gradient above the spillway, and are

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Fig. 4.8. Completed log check dams. Photo credit: Allen King

temporarily stabilized on a gradient equal to the original channel gradient. The major problem with log check dams is that they fill to capacity even after relatively small storms (Fig. 4.11). Treatment installation

A total of 35 log check dams were installed in channels along Dominquez Canyon. Canyon live oaks growing along the channel were cut down and the logs used to build the dams. The trees were thought to be dead (but most were resprouting by the spring of 2004). Logs ranged in size from approximately 6 to 18 in. Most of the log check dams were about 3-4 ft in height. Width of the barriers ranged from 6 to 45 ft. The logs were “keyed in” 1 to 2 ft into the channel side banks (Fig. 4.7). Logs were pinned together using wooden pegs. Geo-textile fabric

Fig. 4.7. Left – Construction of log check dam begins. Right - Geo-textile fabric being spread over log check dam and fabric laid out below dam to act as an energy dissipater. Photo credit: Allen King

was placed over the dams and fabric netting was laid out below the dams to act as an energy dissipater (Fig. 4.7). In Fig. 4.8, a view of the completed log check dams installed along upper Dominquez Cr. The log check dam treatment was approved and implemented after the original treatments were approved and prescribed. Consequently, this treatment was not planned for in the original effectiveness monitoring proposal. We were fortunate in that Allen King (Southern California Province Geologist, Los Padres N.F.) had began taking photos soon after the treatment was implemented. Visual surveys and photo documentation were used to monitor channel treatment effectiveness. A discussion of the 1st year monitoring results can be found in the 2003-2004 treatment effectiveness report (Hubbert 2005). Precipitation was determined using data

from the Piru RAWS weather station (Fig. 4.4).

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Treatment objectives

The log check dam treatments were prescribed to prevent sedimentation from entering Lake Piru by way of Dominquez Cr. The fire bordered only a small section of Piru Cr. at the north end of the lake, but burned on both sides of Dominquez Cr.(located on the west side of the lake) for an extended distance (Fig. 4.1 and.4.9).

Fig. 4.9. Top – Satellite image taken on November 2, 2003 showing burn scars around Lake Piru. Notice large plume of sediment at top of lake. Bottom - Image showing the area on September 22, 2003, prior to the fire. In this image, healthy vegetation appears green, and naturally bare ground or sparse vegetation appears pink. No plume is evident. Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory.

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In Fig. 4.9, Lake Piru can be seen ~1 month before the fire in the bottom image, and immediately following the fire in the top image. There was a large plume of material visible at the top of Lake Piru at the entrance of Piru Cr., but interestingly there was no sign of a sediment plume at the mouth of Dominquez Cr (Fig. 4.9). Considering the main values at risk (reservoir water quality and water quality), the question arises as to why Dominquez Cr. was treated. It was evident that the majority of siltation was originating from Piru Cr. (Fig. 4.9 and Fig. 4.10).

Fig. 4.10. View of sediment plume entering Lake Piru from Piru Cr. Photo taken immediately following the wildfire.

Treatment effectiveness Rainfall during the 1st winter of 2003-2004 was below normal in the teatment areas. However, there was still considerable soil movement due to dry ravel events occurring on the steep slopes. Much of the ravel was deposited in ephemeral channels or on road surfaces. Following the December rain of ~2 inches (Fig. 4.4), the storage area of the lower drainage check dams were filled to capacity by sediment (Fig. 4.11). The rapid filling of all the check dams after these small rain events was a result of the bedloading of the ephemeral drainages by dry ravel. The loose, unconsolidated material was easily transported down channel. This resulted in water flowing unimpeded over the top of the dams (Fig. 4.11 - left). In Fig. 4.11-right, recently deposited material is being incised forming pedestals below the silt fence. The log check dams began to fail during the February rain events. A series of storms occurred in February totaling 4.85 in. (Fig. 4.4).

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Fig. 4.12. Bank failure and breech of log check dam. Note sediment removal’

Fig. 4.11. Left – Log check dam #9 filled with sediment after the December 2003 storms. Right – Check dam #9 during February 2004. Photo credit: Allen King Without any impedance to flow, water gained energy creating new channels in the stored sediment. The new channels in the recently deposited bedload began to meander toward the channel banks. The meandering was a result of lowering the channel gradient (newly

established nick points due to the dams) and less resistance of finer sorted material deposited toward the channel edge. The new channels now cut into the banks contibuting to the end failures of the check dams (Fig. 4.12). The breech of the dam resulted in the flushing out of all the stored sediment that was behind the dam. The flow of water was now cutting into the bank and causing the banks to fail and add more sediment to the channel. The “keying in” of the check dams into the slopes was questionable in many of the

structures, as was witnessed in Fig. 4.12. During the 2nd and 3rd year following the fire,

small areas of vegetation became established on sediment remaining behind the dams (Fig. 4.13). Most of the flow was still cutting around the side of the dam, and continuing to cut into the bank (Fig. 4.13). Currently, a plan developed by Terry Kaplan-Henry is in place to restore the channels and remove the logcheck dams. One problem in the lower drainage was the placement of the 60 inch culvert where the road divides the lower channel from the upper. It was placed too high and can be seen in Fig. 4.14 D.

The photo sequence in Fig. 4.14 shows the effects Fig. 4.13. Third year view of check dam #9

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Fig. 4.14. Photo sequence of log check dam #12 located at top of lower drainage below 60” culvert. A. Sediment loading after first storm. B. Failure of check dam during February storms of 1st year on left side. C. Second year view, note scouring and further bank failure on left side. D. Third year view of cutting into head slope below culvert. Photo credits: Allen King of winter storms during the 1st and 2nd year following the Piru Fire. In photo A, sediment is still in place behind check dam #11 (not seen in photo) and the riprap of large rocks is still in position below the culvert outlet.. Photo B - After the winter storm events of February 2004, the dam has failed on the left and the sediment has been removed leaving only large boulders. The side bank is being cut into where the dam has failed. Photo C – The heavy rains of the 2004- 2005 winter (Fig. 4.4) have further cut into the left bank and threaten to undermine two culverts out of sight to the left. In addition, undercutting of the check dam has further progressed. Photo D. Further storms during the winter of 2005-2006 (Fig. 4.4) have scoured the upper channel removing the boulder riprap and exposing the base of the channel here. Broken concrete in the channel is from the previous culvert that was replaced. The check dams failed as a channel treatment, but were successful in diverting water to the sidebanks causing further erosion and bank failures. They were thus promoting further sediment production rather than preventing it as they were designed to do. Throughout the 2nd and 3rd years, the log erosion barriers continued to cause down-cutting

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of stream bank. At the deepest locations the channel has cut between 6 to 8 feet below the base of the log dams.

Fig. 4.15. Photo sequence of log check dam #1, the first of the series of check dams in the lower drainage. A. Sediment loading after first storm. B. Failure of check dam during February storms of 1st year on right side. Note new channel meandering to outside towards bank. C. Third year view, note further bank failure on right side that is cutting into the road. Photo credits: Allen King Being the last of the dams in place (Fig. 4.15), it was evident that the channel structures above had little effect on the energy of water during peak flows. In Fig. 4.15 (photo B), a new channel was seen cutting into the deposited sediment and meandering to the right and cutting into the bank and breeching the check dam at that end. Photo C (fig. 4.15) showed further cutting of the bank that is becoming dangerously close to the road. Conclusions • Channel bedloading was increased during and for weeks following the fire by dry ravel events. • The log check dams immediately filled with sediment after only 2 inches of rain during the December 2003 storms.

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• The check dams began to fail during the February rain events, either by under-cutting, or by down-cutting of the stream bank at the sides. • Those that failed at the sides resulted in further cutting of the bank that has continued from the 1st year to the 3rd year resulting in bank erosion and more sediment contributed to the channel. • The check dam treatment promoted greater erosion in the channel, and in places, has put the road in danger by undercutting the stream banks. • The entire set of channel treatments should not have been implemented because (1) the high production rate of material (dry ravel) in these steep (>55% watersheds) provided high bedloading of fresh materials for transport (2) steep gradients in the upper drainages, (3) redirection of new channels as fresh flows cut into the newly deposited sediment because of lessening of the gradient, and (4) questionable values at risk ( Lake Piru Reservoir, most believed that sedimentation posed no problem). • The regional BAER coordinator, Brent Roath, acknowledged that it was a mistake on his part to approve this treatment without first conferring with the original BAER assessment team leaders beforehand. Implementation teams may need to modify the Assessment teams treatment plans based upon local site-specific conditions, but the Assessment Team Leader should be consulted before any new treatments are considered or approved that were not in the original 2500-8 Burned Area Emergency Response report. Road treatments

Background

Approximately 52 miles of Forest Service system roads were affected by the Piru Fire. Road treatments were concentrated in two separate areas of the Piru Fire, the Sespe unit (comprised of the Sespe oil fields and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary) and the Dominquez Canyon unit (located above Lake Piru) (Fig. 4.1).

Initial implementation work began with road protection and culvert treatments along Squaw Flat Road in the Sespe unit. Access to the Sespe oil fields was the number one priority. There were environmental concerns over pipeline failures (Fig. 4.16). Access to the Sespe condor refuge was another primary concern. In the Dominquez Canyon unit, major concerns focused on maintaining access to private ranches, and access to remote area for fire control. Detailed road logs are included in Appendix D detailing what treatments were completed and at what mile point they were located.

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Fig. 4.16. Oil pipelines at risk in the Sespe area.

Sespe area 2nd and 3rd year effectiveness monitoring The major events that occurred during the 2nd year storm events were dominated by soil slips, slope failures, and road washouts due to culvert failures (Figs. 4.21, 4.22).

Fig. 4.21. Blowout of plugged culvert on Tar Creek road. Photo credit: Allen King, Bud Jarvis In Fig. 4.21, the blowout of Tar Creek road was one of the casualties of the above average 2004-2005 winter (Fig. 4.4) where 40 inches of rain fell between October 2004 and April 2005. In addition, soil slips (Fig. 4.22) and slope failures were prevalent throughout the Sespe area due to the saturated soils. It was a priority to keep these roads passable because of the Sespe oil fields and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary.

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Fig. 4.22. Left - Slope failure located on Squaw Creek Road. Right – Completed repair and grading of road, photo taken June 16, 2005. Photo credit: Allen King. Along the Burma Road at mile point 1.91, there was embankment failure caused by water running down the steep graded road due to a clogged culvert (Fig. 4.23). This repair was considered high priority because of risk of further incision and landslide potential from above.

Fig. 4.23. Inside ditch of road is downcut roughly 1.5 to 2 feet along the entire length of the road below clogged culvert on the Burma Road. Photo credit: Allen King, May 10, 2005

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Fig. 4.24. Large concrete spillway with boulder-size rock rip rap below. Photo credit: Allen King In Fig. 4.24, the large concrete spillway structure was built to move water away from the slope and to rocks at the bottom that would dissipate the energy of the water. The record precipitation of the 2004-2005 winter prevented some monitoring because of dangerous road conditions and closed roads. There were not many road failures attributed to the below normal 2005-2006 3rd year winter (Fig. 4.4). Most of the failures that occurred were due to after effects of the 2004-2005 storms, Storm Patrol at Dominguez Canyon The following 3rd year road treatment monitoring is credited to Joshua Courter and Terry Kaplan-Henry, two USFS Forest Service hydrologists. On March 1st, Joshua Courter (Hydrologist) reviewed the affects of the January and February 2006 storm events on the Dominguez Canyon watershed. Culvert Conditions

Culverts installed at low water crossing were no longer functioning. The storm events had continued to erode the sediment, making the road impassible to standard vehicles. As mentioned in the February storm report, the culvert size installed was smaller than recommended in the BAER Engineering Report. A 24 inch CMP was in place, clogged and non-functional, recommended one 36-inch pipe to drain base flows and 2- 24 inch CMP to drain floodplain.

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February 2006 March 2006

Low Water Crossing 2 (mp 0.7), View Upstream

February 2006 March 2006

Low Water Crossing 2 (mp 0.7), View Downstream Fig. 4.25. Photo sequence showing culvert failure following 2006 storm events. In Fig. 4.25 top left, about half of the road has been eroded. Note the amount of pipe showing in both pictures. Also note the amount of erosion that had taken place along and around the side of culvert from February to March, 2006. Low water crossing number 5 (mp 1.8) had clogged culverts as well. The K-rails that were in place last year have blown out and some pieces have been transported down stream. Higher velocities from the stream should be considered before another culvert installation due to the convergence of two drainages at this point. Erosion of the road bed was about 2.5 feet wide by 1.5 feet deep making it impossible for vehicles to pass (Fig. 4.26).

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Fig. 4.26. Low Water Crossing 5 (mp 1.8), View upstream March 2006. Gully forming above low water crossing . Channel Conditions The K-rail site in Dominguez Canyon at mile-point 1.7 continued to show concerns relative to the road bed. It was recommended that vanes and j-hook vanes be installed with sills to roll the water away from the road cut which was actively eroding. Conceptual design has been documented on paper and locations of proposed structures have been painted on the ground. A new channel alignment away from the road would be constructed. The road bed was between 8-10 feet from the location nearest to creek. The road should be re-graded to widen the road bed surface. If left alone, the stream would erode the road away, not allowing for private home owners to pass. Channel vein structures

Channel vein structures failed in slowing the energy of the water through the curve, thus preventing further erosion of the bank below the road and Matthew’s Cabin Storm Patrol Documentation Piru May 10, 2006

On May 10, 2006 Ken Shaw, Irvin Fernandez, Al Hess, Maeton Freel, Bob Jarvis, Allen King, Donna Toth, and Terry Kaplan-Henry (SQF) evaluated the Piru Fire for storm damage to sites identified for BAER implementation. The precipitation graph illustrated the increase in rainfall since March 1. Roughly 11 inches of rainfall occurred in the vicinity of the burn since the last visit on March 1, 2006. The Ojai station was utilized and probably represented elevated rainfall relative to Dominguez Canyon. At the very least, there was significant rainfall in the area of the burn.

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PRECIPITATION

Fig. 4.18. Precipitation measured from Mar 1 to May 9, 2006.

MP 0.78 Bench Eroded Fill Slope Failure Installation of cross vanes and vane structures was completed March 13-15 just prior to the increased rain fall. This site was evaluated and was functioning as intended. Channel reconstruction (view downstream) Site on May 10, 2006 after storm

View upstream March 17, 2006 View upstream May 10, 2006 Fig. 4.19. Bench eroded fill slope failure

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MP 1.22. Low water crossing . Emergency treatment was needed due to erosion at site. Installation of new culvert was handling flows and functioning well. The following photos show before and after installation on May 10, 2006 following additional rain activity. View on March 1, 2006 View May 10, 2006, Outlet

Low Water crossing MP1.25 After replacement of pipe and additional rainfall, the culvert was functional and in place. Photo taken on May 10, 2006

Fig. 4.20. Views of erosion problems encountered at low water crossing at MP 1.22. At milepoints 1.31, 1.43, 1.56 and 1.83, all sites needed to be treated. Milepoints 1.31 and 1.43 were in serious need of restoration. Large amounts of sediment and cutting had occurred at these sites. Milepoint 1.43 has two channels that joined just at the road edge. K-rails placed here need to be removed to help keep water in the channel. These sites are of highest priority to restore. The other two sites mp 1.56 and 1.83 still need treatment but are of a lower priority. Dominguez Canyon in channel design restoration description (Terry Kaplan-Henry) The following is a description of a restoration plan for the Dominquez Canyon log check dams presented by Terry Kaplan Henry. Valley Length is 980 feet, Channel Gradient 8-14%; Valley Gradient 11-12%

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• Removal of 10 log erosion barriers and stock piling of materials for future use.

o Approximately 20 to 25 logs 12-30 feet long • Removal and stock piling of any dead trees from immediate area and along road,

maintain root wads where available (estimate 4-5 trees) • Relocate 2000 cubic yards from bank and channel bottom to grade and fill gully • Install 13 step pools in upper 220 feet at a grade of 14%; roughly 18 to 24 feet apart with

a 3’ elevation change. Pool to pool spacing is roughly 18-24’ Max pool depth= 1.2’; Max riffle depth=0.7’.

• Install 38 to 40 step pool and log/rock vane structures in lower 760 feet at grade of 8 to 9%; with a sequence of step-pool, vane, step-pool with a spacing of 5’, 8’,5’ and an elevation change of 1’ between step-pool and vane and .5’ between vane and step-pool for a total of 1.5’. Max pool depth= 1.2’; Max riffle depth=0.7’.

• Create a valley bottom of roughly 20’ feet in width • Sinuosity of channel is roughly 1.02 ft/ft • Bankfull width = 8’ • Bankfull cross-section area = 2.1 ft2 • Flood prone width = 12’

Materials • 8 oz Geotextile non woven polyester fabric 4-100’x 30’ rolls • 80 logs approximately 14’ long (we think we have roughly 30 when we cut what we have

on site) • 1,240-2’ diameter rocks, roughly 155 tons, or 12 truck loads (wow) • Roofing Nails and Washers

Equipment • Excavator with thumb • D6 Caterpillar tractor • 10 yd dump truck • Chainsaw

Conclusions • Because of the time and distances involved, storm patrols can only access a minimum of roads during major storm events. Therefore, it was rare for failures to be prevented by the storm patrol. For the most part, the storm patrol was only able to identify where treatments had failed or new failures had occurred. However, storm patrols were efficient in identifying clogged culverts. • Because of the constant deposition of dry ravel and fluvial sediments, road grading was a continuous and successful treatment application throughout the 3-years following the fire. • Out of the7 total LWC’s with K-rails installed, 4 were originally placed too high and failed, and 3 were placed low enough and were successful the 1st year. In many cases, repairs had to be repeated numerous times (further lowering of K-rail) until the treatment was deemed working. • K-rail treatment placed at low water crossings did not work during the 2nd year winter storms. K-Rails that remained in place the 1st year had blown out after the 2nd year storms and some

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pieces have been transported down stream. This was another reason not to place any obstructions in channels. • Both overside drains with metal outlets and overside drains with either Little Macs or Big Macs worked during the 1st year. Most of the culverts that were replaced the 1st year were upsized and appeared to be working. • During the large storm events of the 2nd winter, it was impossible to prevent plugging and blowouts of culverts. • Slope failures and soil slips commonly occurred in the area following the 2nd year storms causing numerous road blockages. • Channel vein structures failed in slowing the energy of the water through the curve, thus preventing further erosion of the bank below the road and Matthew’s cabin. • Overall, most of the treatments implemented the 1st year following the fire failed during the record breaking storm events of the 2004-2005 winter. However, the roads have been repaired and are open for access. Most of the k-rails have been removed and the low water crossings have been redesigned. It is almost impossible and rarely cost effective to prevent road failure in some locations. • Slope failures and soil slips commonly occurred in the area following the 2nd year storms causing numerous road blockages. • Channel vein structures failed in slowing the energy of the water through the channel curve below Matthew’s cabin, and further erosion of the bank below the road was observed. • Overall, most of the treatments implemented the 1st year following the fire failed during the record breaking storm events of the 2004-2005 winter. However, the roads have been repaired and are open for access. Most of the k-rails have been removed and the low water crossings have been redesigned. Because of the magnitude of the 2004-2005 winter, it was almost impossible and rarely cost effective to prevent road failure in the Piru area.. Noxious weeds The 1st year monitoring was completed by Wendy Dobrowolski and a complete report is available in the Piru Fire section of the 1st year treatment effectiveness report (Hubbert 2005). A summary of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year monitoring follows. Noxious weeds were located on 121 acres of the approximately 1,777 acres that were monitored (Table Eradication took place on 116 acres. Infestations of the target weed species Centaurea melitensis was the most prevalent in the areas surveyed and was often evenly distributed over large areas. This species occurred mostly along roads and trails but had begun to spread away from these habitats due to fire disturbance. Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) was detected in several areas, but only occurred in patchy distributions, and was removed. Spartium junceum was occurring along road ditches and drainages and was spreading into the stream systems. It has been partly removed from the burn areas. Tamarix ramosissima (tamarisk) was known to occur along the Sespe Creek and mapping of its coverage was planned. Efforts to control Tamarix ramosissima by hand pulling were being conducted by a volunteer group. In addition to the target species mapped, the non-native grass species Avena barbata, Bromus diandrus, Bromus madritensis, and Bromus tectorum were recorded as commonly occurring within the Piru burn areas. Surveys along the Sespe Creek Wild and Scenic River have continued through the 2nd year looking at the spread and occurrence of Spartium junceum, Centaurea solstitialis, and Tamarix ramosissima. Additional eradication efforts continued along Squaw Flat Road, Alder Creek Trail, and the Piedra Blanca Trail to remove Centaurea melitensis and Centaurea solstitialis.

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The majority of the weeds found after the fire were thought to be from previous existing seed bank populations. Table 4.1. Noxious Weeds of special interest on the Los Padres National Forest

Scientific Name Common Name Identified post-fire Avena barbata slender wild oat y Avena fatua wild oat Brassica nigra black mustard Bromus diandrus ripgut brome Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens red brome Bromus tectorum cheatgrass Centaurea melitensis tocalote Centaurea solstitialis yellow star thistle Cirsium vulgare bull thistle Foeniculum vulgare wild fennel Nicotiana glauca tree tobacco Ricinus communis castor bean Salsola tragus Russian thistle Tamarix spp. tamarisk

Heritage resources

Second and 3rd year survey coverage was minimal for cultural properties existing within the burn area due to the rugged terrain and land allocations of the Sespe Wilderness and Condor Sanctuary (Galbraith 2003). Less than 1% burn area and land affected by suppression activities had been inventoried prior to the Piru Fire (Galbraith 2003). A records search identified 14 cultural properties situated within the burn area, with only 8 of those being on Forest Service lands. Because of the removal of plant cover, accessibility and visibility of the cultural sites were a primary concern. The sites then become more susceptible to vandalism and artifact looting. Treatments included: (1) an archaeological inventory and patrol of areas of archaeological sensitivity, and (2) the placement of signs at trailheads informing people of the penalties for antiquity violations. Signs were placed at three trailheads: Forest Boundary along Squaw Flat Road (6N16) at Oak Flat, the trailhead for Pothole Trail (18W04) along Piru Canyon Road, and at the Agua Blanca Trail (19W10) trailhead. The following cultural sites were inspected:

Forest Service No. Landowner Description 0507-55-002 USFS Prehistoric 0507-55-008 USFS Cemetery 0507-55-131 USFS Rock Art 0507-55-158 USFS Prehistoric 0507-55-159 USFS Historic 0507-55-161 USFS Prehistoric

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Only those areas easily accessed by the public with a high probability of cultural sensitivity were inventoried and patrolled. Immediate areas of concern were Squaw Flat Road between Oak Flat and Squaw Flat, Tar and Maple Creeks, and Devil’s Potrero. Known cultural properties were patrolled to discourage and watch for any looting or vandalism activities. Surveys were conducted using mostly volunteers from the Forest’s Site Steward program (Galbraith 2003). Monitoring of the sites continued until vegetative groundcover recovered to the extent that visibility of the sites would be deterred. Heavy rains made access to some of the sites very difficult during the 2004-2005 winter. Vegetative cover was sufficient early in the 2nd year following the wildfire to obscure or hide the cultural sites.

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Padua Fire Angeles National Forest

Background The Padua Fire consumed 10,446 acres of predominately chaparral vegetation, of which 4,909 acrea were on National forest land. The Padua Fire was an extension of the western portions of the larger Grand Prix Fire. Burn severity was rated as: low – 1888 acres, moderate – 2563 acres, and high – 177 acres. Water repellency was found on 176 acres. Hillslope erosion potential was estimated at 117 tons/acre. Sediment potential equaled 7488 cubic yards/square mile. The majority of the fire burned with moderate to low severity. In all sample locations, fibrous root material was intact. No treatments were prescribed for either hillslope or channels. The “no treatment option” was chosen because of the steep slopes and also because of the known rapid recovery of the chaparral species. Monitoring of treatment and no treatment sites would provide knowledge that can be used to educate the public on how natural systems recover following fire. It would also help remove pressures to recommend treatments that will either not be effective or harm the environment. Heritage resources

A comprehensive 1st year report was prepared by Darrell W. Vance, ANF Archaeologist, and is included in the 1st year treatment effectiveness monitoring report (Hubbert 2005). A summary follows. No action treatments were proposed for the following sites:

FS #05-01-52-006 - San Antonio Light and Power Co. Pomona Powerplant System.

FS #05-01-52-15 - Jacob Shinner’s Grave.

FS #05-01-52-17 - Hog Back Mine C..

FS #05-01-52-19 - Kerckhoff Wagon Road.

FS #05-01-52-101 - Sunset Ridge Fire Road.

FS #05-01-52-112 - Shinn Road Bridge. Protection treatments were proposed and completed for the following:

FS #05-01-52-050 - Sunset Lookout Site (Fig. 5.1. An updated site record was prepared documenting the layout of site components. An updated survey and inventory was completed in January 2004. Mapping of locations of any significant features/artifacts was completed for purposes of future relocation during the 2nd year. Winter rain events had no effect on the site. Vegetation recovery after the above normal rain events of the 2nd year aided in obscuring the sites from public view. This has remained the case through the 3rd year.

FS #05-01-52-115 - Camp Baldy Road (Fig. 5.2)

A site record was completed for the newly detected trail.

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Six new heritage resources were identified. Historic sites included San Antonio Road (05-01-52-115), San Antonio Road Can Dump (05-01-52-116), Grandpa’s Secret Can Dump (05-01-52-117), Eucalyptus Grove Foundation (05-01-52-118), Stoddard’s Camp (05-01-52-119), and the San Antonio Road Complex (05-01

-52-120).

• FS #05-01-52-115 - San Antonio Road. This site consists of a former primary route into San Antonio Canyon, dating to 1922. In 1955, the access road was moved to higher ground, replacing this route. The route is an overgrown, intermittently paved surface that had washed out several times. Sections of the road had been burned over by the fire. It was expected that watershed processes will not adversely affect historic characteristics of the road.

• FS #05-01-52-116 – San Antonio Road Can Dump. This historic site was tied to the former road, consisting of a large can dump with elements dating to between the 1930s and 1970s. The site was burned over in the Padua Fire, and may have lost some flammable materials.

• FS #05-01-52-117 - Grandpa’s Secret Can Dump. This historic site consisted of an isolated can dump of 100+ elements, dating to circa 1930s. The site was not expected to be extensively affected by slope movement, as it sites on a relatively flat terrace.

• FS #05-01-52-118 – Eucalyptus Grove Foundation. This historic site consisted of a large structure terrace of rubble masonry with plaster facing. It likely dates to between the late 1870s and 1930s. This site was burned over by the fire, but was not be greatly affected by natural processes.

• FS #05-01-52-119 – Stoddard’s Camp. This was a historic resort camp site dating to the 1890s. The site consists of a series of foundations, an old road bed, and some water catchment features. This site was only partially burned over by the fire and received some suppression fire retardant, but would not be greatly affected by natural processes.

• FS #05-01-52-120 – San Antonio Road Complex. This was a historic site, associated with San Antonio Road, consisting of a complex of very elaborate masonry buildings and foundations. The site likely dates to the turn-of-the century water and power ventures in San Antonio Canyon. The site was not expected to be extensively affected by slope movement, as it lies on a relatively flat terrace, and has nearby channel features to prevent much sediment flow.

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References

Biddinger, T., Gallegos, A.J., Janicki, A., Tenpas, J. 2004. BAER watershed assessment report: 2003 Grand Prix and Old Fire. Booker, F.A., and W.E. Dietrich. 1998. Landscape and Management Response to Wildfires in California Burned Watersheds Erosion Study CDF No. 8CA38629, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Brown, B. 2003. Padua Fire Burned-Area Report- FS-2500-8, USDA Forest Service FSH 2509-13. November, 2003.

California Chaparral Field Institute http://www.californiachaparral.com Caltrans erosion control new technology report. 2003. California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/env/stormwater/special/newsetup/_pdfs/erosion/CTSW-RT-03-049.pdf Cannon, SH., Djokic, D., Sreedhar, S. 2003. Emergency assessment of debris-flow hazards from the Grand Prix and Old Fires of 2003, Southern California. U.S. Geologic Survey Open-File Report, Denver, CO. p. 7, 6 maps. Clark, J., Parsons, A., Zajkowski, T., Lannom, K. 2003. Remote sensing imagery support for Burned Area Emergency Response Teams on 2003 Southern California Wildfires. RSAC-2003-RPT1 Remote Sensing Applications Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Clines, J. 2005. Preventing weed spread in contaminated hay and straw. California Invasive Plant Council Symposium 2005, Chico, California. Ellsworth, T., Kurmedjian, G. 2003. Grand Prix/Old Fire Burned-Area Report- FS-2500-8, USDA Forest Service FSH 2509-13. November, 2003.

Fitzerald, J. Napper, C. 2003. Piru Fire Burned-Area Report- FS-2500-8, USDA Forest Service, November, 2003.

Forest Service Handbook. 1999. Burned-area emergency rehabilitation handbook. FSH 2509, Washington, D.C..13 –65. . Frazier, J. 2003. Cedar Fire Burned-Area Report- FS-2500-8, USDA Forest Service FSH 2509-13. November, 2003.

Galbraith, S. 2003. Heritage resource assessment. In: Piru Fire Burned-Area Report- FS-2500-8, November, 2003. GAO. 2003. Wildland fires: better information needed on effectiveness of emergency stabilization and rehabilitation treatments. Report No. GAO-03-430. Washington, DC: U. S. General Accounting Office. 55 p.

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Hall, F. C. 2002. Photo point monitoring handbook. PNW-GTR-526 http://fsweb.ftcol.wo.fs.fed.us/frs/rangelands/index.shtml Healy, E. and J. DiTomaso. Yellow flowered starthistle fact sheet. Weed Research and Information Center, UC Davis, Davis, CA http://wric.ucdavis.edu/yst/biology/yst_fact_sheet. Holmes, JG, Marean, HW, Neill, NP, Root, AS, Sweet, AT., and WE McClendon. Soil survey of the San Bernardino Valley, California. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Government Printing Office, Washington DC. Hubbert, KR. 2005. Treatment effectiveness monitoring for southern California wildfires: 2003 to 2004. pp. 214 http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/4403/BAEREffectivenessMonitoringSoCA.pdf Hubbert, KR., and V. Oriol. 2005. Temporal fluctuations in soil water repellency following wildfire in chaparral steeplands, southern California. International J. Wildland Fire. 14:439-447. Janicki, A. and S. Grant.. 2002. Heli-mulching on the Darby Fire: A Case Study. USDA forest Service, Stanislaus National Forest. Keeley, JE, CJ Fotheringham, and MA Moritz. 2004. Lessons from the October 2003 wildfires in southern California. Journal of Forestry 102: 26-21. Napper, C. 2005. Why Monitor the “No Treatment” Areas within a Wildland Fire? In Hubbert, KR. Treatment effectiveness monitoring for southern California wildfires: 2003 to 2004. Napper, C. 2006. BAER treatment guide. USDA Forest Service. San Dimas Technology Center (In press).

NASA Earth Observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=11799

Ravi, S., D'Odorico, P., Herbert, B., Zobeck, T.M., and T. Over. 2005. Enhancement of wind erosion by fire-induced water repellency in soils: a wind tunnel study [abstract]. American Geophysical Union. Paper No. B41d-0233. Rowe, PB., Countryman, CM. and HC Storey. 1949. Probable peak discharges and erosion rates from southern California watersheds as influenced by fire. USDA Forest Service, California Forest and Range Experiment Station. RAWS (National Interagency Remote Automated Weather Stations) Robichaud, PR., Beyers, JL., and DG Neary. 2000. Evaluating the effectiveness of postfire rehabilitation treatments. USDA Forest Service, Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-63. Fort Collins, CO.

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Robichaud, PR. and RE Brown. 2002. Silt fences: an economical technique for measuring hillslope soil erosion. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-94, p. 24.

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Appendices Appendix A. Identification by genus and species, common name, and plant category for plants occurring on the Cedar plant recovery plots. Plant code Plant cover (Common name) (Category)

(genus/species)

ADFA Adenostoma fasciculatum Chamise shrub ALLIsp Allium haematochiton Red-skinned onion forb APAN Apiastrum angustifolium Wild celery forb ARGL Arctostaphylos glandulosa Eastwood Manzanita shrub AVENAsp Avena Sp. Oats grass BRMA Bromus madrilensis rubens Red brome grass CACA Camissonia californica California primrose forb CAHI Camissonia hirtella Small primrose forb CAKO Calamagrostis koelerioides Fire reedgrass grass CAWE Calochortus weedii Weed's mariposa lily forb CAMA Calystegia macrostegia Morning glory vine CECR Ceanothus crassifolius Hoaryleaf ceanothus shrub CEGR Ceanothus greggii Grey desert ceanothus shrub CEOL Ceanothus oliganthus Hairy-leaf ceanothus shrub CEMA Centaurea maculosa Spotted knapweed forb CEME Centaurea melitensis Malta starthistle forb CEMI Centunculus minimus Chaffweed forb CEMO Cercocarpus montanus Birchleaf mountain mahogamy shrub CHAR Chaenactis artemisiifolia White Chaenactis forb CHFI Chorizanthe fimbriata Fringed spineflower forb CHPO Chlorogalum pomeridianum Soap plant forb CLPA Clematis pauciflora Squawbush vine CLPE Claytonia perfoliata Miner's lettuce forb CNDU Cneoridium dumosum Coast spice bush shrub CRIN Cryptantha intermedia Large-flowered popcorn flower forb CRMU Cryptantha muricata Pointed catseye forb CR Cryptantha sp. Catseye forb DI Dichelostemma capitatum Blue dicks, wild hyacinth forb EMPE Emmenanthe penduliflora Whispering bells forb ERFO Erigeron foliosus Leafy daisy forb ERCO Eriophyllum confertiflorum Golden Yarrow forb ERCR Eriodictyon crassifolia Thick-leaved ground cherry shrub ERFA Eriogonum fasciculatum California buckwheat forb FIGA Filago gallica Narrowleaf cottonrose forb GAVE Garrya veatchii Silk tassel bush shrub GNCA Gnaphalium californicum Ladies tobacco forb HASQ Hazardia squarrosa Sawtooth goldenbush forb HESC Helianthemum scoparium Sun rose forb HEGR Helianthus gracilentus Slender sunflower forb HEMI Hesperolinon micranthum Smallflower dwarf-flax forb HEAR Heteromeles arbutifolia Toyon shrub

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HEFA Hemizonia fasciculata Clustered tarweed forb HIIN Hirschfeldia incana Shortpod mustard forb HYGL Hypochoeris glabra Smooth cat's ear forb KOMA Koelaria macrantha June grass grass LACA Lasthenia californica Goldenfields forb LOFO Lomatium foeniculaceum Desert biscuitroot forb LOGA Logfia gallica Narrowleaf cottonrose forb LOSU Lonicera subspicata San Diego honeysuckle shrub LOSC Lotus scoparius Deerweed forb LOST Lotus strigosus Strigose Bird's-Foot Trefoil forb MALA Malosma laurina Laurel sumac shrub NAAT Navarretia atractyloides Hollyleaf navarretia forb PHBR Phacelia brachyloba Yellow-throated phacelia forb PHCI Phacelia cicutaria Caterpillar phacelia forb PHCL Phlox cluteana Navajo mountain phlox forb PHMI Phacelia minor Canterbury bells forb PTDR Pterostegia drymarioides Pterostegia forb QUBE Quercus berberidifolia Scrub oak shrub RACA Ranunculus californicus California buttercup shrub RHCR Rhamnus crocea Redberry buckthorn shrub RHOV Rhus ovata Sugar bush shrub SAAP Salvia apiana White sage forb SACL Salvia clevelandii Fragrant sage forb SACO Salvia columbariae Chia forb SAME Salvia mellifera Black sage forb SCCA Scrophularia californica Bee-plant forb SOOL Sonchus oleraceus Common sowthistle forb STLE Stevia lemmonii Lemmon’s candyleaf shrub STVI Stephanomeria. virgata Twiggy wreathplant forb TAOF Taraxacum officinale Dandelion forb TRPA Trichostema parishii Mountain Bluecurls forb VUMY Vulpia myuros Rat tail fescue grass XYBI Xylococcus bicolor Mission manzanita shrub YUWH Yucca whipplei Chaparral yucca forb ZIFR Zigadenus fremontii Death Camas forb

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Cover type 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005CAHI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CAKO 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0CEMI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CEMO 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CRIN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0CRMU 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0EMPE 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ERFA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0FIGA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0GNCA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0KOMA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LOFO 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LOST 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0NAAT 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0PHBR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0PHCI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHCL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHMI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PTDR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0SACL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0SACO 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0SCCA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0SOOL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0STVI 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0TRPA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ZIFR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

Granitic 50% treated Granitic 100% treatedCover type 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

CAHI 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CAKO 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0CEMO 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CRIN 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0CRMU 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0EMPE 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0ERFA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0FIGA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0GNCA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0KOMA 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0LOFO 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0LOST 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0NAAT 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHBR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHCI 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHCL 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PHMI 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0PTDR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0SACL 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0SACO 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0SCCA 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0SOOL 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0STVI 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0TRPA 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2ZIFR 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Gabbro Control Gabbro 50% treated Granitic control

Gabbro Control Gabbro 50% treated Granitic 50% treated Granitic 100% treated Granitic control

Appendix B. Percent cover of plant species not listed in Table 2.2 compared for all treatments and between gabbro and granitic soils between 2004-2005 and 2005- 2006.

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Appendix C. Species encountered at the City Creek straw mulch site.

Genus Specific Epithet Family Lifeform Code Acourtia microcephala ACMI Adenostoma fasciculatum Rosaceae Shrub ADFA Artemisia californica ARCA Avena sp Poaceae Grass AVENsp BRCA Bromus diandrus Poaceae Grass BRDI Bromus hordeaceus Poaceae Grass BRHO Bromus rubens Poaceae Grass BRRU Calystegia macrostegia Convolvulaceae Forb CAMA Camissonia californica Forb CACA Ceanothus crassifolia Rhamnaceae Shrub CECR Centaurea melitensis CEME Cryptantha muricata Forb CRMU Emmenanthe penduliflora Hydrophyllaceae Forb EMPE Encelia farinosa ENFA Erodium cicutarium Geraniaceae Forb ERCI ERCO Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia Hydropyllaceae Forb EUCH HASQ Helianthus gracilentus Asteraceae HEGR Hersinca Hirschfeldia incana Brassicaceae Forb HIIN Lonicera subspicata LOSU Marah macrocarpa Cucurbiaceae Forb MAMA Mentzelia micrantha Forb MEMI Mirabilis laevis Nyctaginaceae Forb MILA Phacelia minor Hydrophyllaceae Forb PHMI Phacelia sp Hydrophyllaceae Forb PHACsp Quercus berberidifolia Fagaceae QUBE SAAP Salvia columbariae Lamiaceae SACO Salvia mellifera Lamiaceae SAME Solanum xanti Solanaceae SOXA Stephanomeria virgata Forb STVI Vulpia myuros Poaceae Grass VUMY Cercocarpus betuloides Rosaceae CEBE

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Appendix D. Road logs: Cedar, Old/Grand Prix, and Piru Fires Cedar Fire Road Logs ANDERSON TRUCK TRAIL - Mileage begins from gate at water tank where pavement turns to gravel. Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 Gate at water tank

Reference only

0.1 Warning sign At start of road. This road is graded during the spring of every year. This was not done this year because of fire.

0.1 Reset drains 0.2 Overside drain 0.3 Fencing 32º51.708’

116º44.535’ y y Wire fencing has been cut. Fencing was

placed on both sides of the road from 0.1 to 1.3 miles. Repaired again in 2005.

0.6 Overside drain 32º51.649’ 116º44.662’

y y Bank eroded and cut 8 foot down at side of drain. New 24 inch culvert with extension installed after Oct storms. Repaired 2005.

0.7 Lead-off 32º51.742’ 116º44.684’

(PRIVATE land)

0.8 Pipes 32º51.781’ 116º44.766’

(PRIVATE land)

0.9 Lead-off on both sides

y Both seem to be working. Repaired 2005.

0.9-1.1 Series of 12 rolling dips with lead-offs

y Photo of 3 lead-offs between 0.9 and 1.1 but closer to 1.1. Regraded 2005

Brow ditch on inslope

1.1 Lead-off reinforced with rock

y There was much rock added to drainage features 2004 (i.e. riprap to lead-offs).

1.1 Crowing Riprap added to existing drain features

1.3 OHV pipe barriers

32º52.093’ 116º44.763’

Have remained functional through both winters.

1.4 Overside drain 32º52.137’ 116º44.836’

y y Also reinforced berm, added material (after thunderstorm). Nearby old overside drain. New one after thunderstorm had to be fixed 2004 and 2005.

1.4 Overside drain y With riprap below. Repaired 2005 1.4(9) Overside drain y y Held after thunderstorm, but failed after

Oct storms and 2004-3005 storms 1.5 Overside drain y Riprap below 1.7 Old overside

drain 32º52.272’ 116º45.123’

With riprap (and tires). Private land, 6” spestic concrete pipe. Too long a run on road and water not dissipating.

1.8 New overside drain

Short run, riprap below. Sand ahead on road appeared after fire.

1.9 Overside drain y y Reinstalled with a lot of fill 2004 and 2005

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1.9 Overside drain y y Riprap below 1.9(9) Overside drain 2.0 Crossing onto Viejas land; overside drain at

sign. 2.1 Overside drain y Functioning quite well 2004, repaired 2005 2.4 End of road work. Grading up to this point.

Lightly graded flat like private owners wanted. When rolling dips were installed, land owners destroyed them.

WILDWOOD GLEN LANE/LOS TERENITOS (Old Highway 80) Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Notes

0 Gate and sign 32º50.476’ 116º37.888’

MINER’S ROAD - Off of Pine Creek Road. Mileage started at gate. Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 32º52.122’ 116º30.999’

0.1 Overside drain 32º52.130’ 116º30.995’

y Repaired.

0.1 Overside drain 0.2 Lead off This was improved. 0.3 12” overside

drain 32º52.376’ 116º30.999’

y Improved.

0.3-0.42 5 overside drains

y y Total included one mentioned above. At 0.4, overside drain was in the dip.

0.5 Opened up rolling dip

0.5 Lead off With riprap 0.5 Lead off 2 improved 0.5 Lead off y Repaired 2005 0.6 Lead off y Repaired 2005 0.7 Lead off y In low spot. Re-graded. 0.7 Lead off 0.7-0.8 Outsloping

road

0.8 Riprap added With 2-3 year old drain. 0.9 Riprap Existing 12” overside drain with riprap at

bottom of flume. 0.9 New 18”

overside drain y

1.0 Newly added riprap

y Existing 12” overside drain with riprap at bottom of flume. Repaired

1.0 New 18” overside drain installation

y

1.1 New 18” overside drain

y

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installation 1.1 Rolling dip

and lead off Regraded 2005

1.2 New 18” overside drain installation

y

1.3 New 18” overside drain installation

y y Repaired 2005

1.3 New 18” overside drain installation

y y Repaired 2005

1.4 Water bar with riprap

1.4 Water bar with riprap

y Repaired 2005

1.4 Water bar with riprap

y Repaired 2005

1.5 New 18” overside drain installation

y With rolling dip

1.5 New riprap at bottom

y Existing 18” overside drain

1.6 Riprap above and below

y Existing 18” overside drain. Riprap added above not thought to do anything (MM). Expect water and sediment to wash through because not tight enough. Repaired 2005

1.6-1.7 Outsloped road 1.7 New 18”

overside drain installation

1.7 Little rock added below

y Existing 12” overside drain

1.7 Riprap below moved around

Existing 12” overside drain

1.8-1.9 Series of 3 dips

This section is steep, not a whole lot can be done here.

1.8 New 18” overside drain installation

y No riprap added.

1.8 New 18” overside drain installation

y No riprap

1.9 New 18” overside drain installation

y No riprap

2.0 Road ends. Rest of road blocked by rocks.

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DEER PARK ROAD – Off of Pine Creek Road. Mileage from gate. Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 32º53.669’ 116º30.296’

Road maintained annually.

0.1 Lead off 0.1 Lead off With riprap added, existing rolling dip. 0.2 New 18”

overside drain installation

y

0.4 Lead off improved

y Regraded 2005

0.4 Lead off 0.5 New 18”

overside drain installation

y

0.6 Lead off improved

y Appears to be silted in already.

0.7 Lead off Looks like it is going uphill. 0.8 Lead off 0.8 Lead off Probably some touchups 0.9 Riprap added y y Low water crossing with riprap added to

both sides of road. Regraded 2005 0.9 New 18”

overside drain installation.

y

1.0 Lead off Ramona Area WEST SIDE TRUCK TRAIL - Section: Thornbush to Barona Mesa. Mileage started from gate Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

Plans to pave this road 0.0(5) Existing drain feature. 0.0(8/9) y Existing drain feature. Repair 2005 0.1 y Existing overside drain. 0.1(5) Existing overside drain. 0.1(7) New riprap

below y Existing overside drain.

0.1(9) New riprap below

y Overside drain

0.2 New riprap below

y Overside drain

0.2(4) Existing overside drain. 0.2(8) New riprap

below y Existing overside drain.

0.3 New overside drain with 10 ft flume

y y

99

99

0.3(3) Riprap added below

32º59.588’ 116º45.627’

y y Existing overside drain with rilling below. Added rock to prevent erosion. More rock added 2005.

0.3(7) New riprap y Existing drain 0.3(8/9) New overside

drain y y With riprap below.

0.4 New overside drain

y y Extension with riprap below. Also rolling dip. Regraded 2005

0.4(3) Possibly improved dip

y y Existing overside drain, might have improved the dip. Repaired 2005

0.4(6/7) Added riprap y Removed overside drain? 0.5 New overside

drain y

0.5(1/2) New overside drain

y With riprap

0.5(3/4) New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.5(7) New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.5(8) New riprap y y Existing overside drain. Repaired 2005 0.6 New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.6(3) New overside

drain 32º59.389’ 116º45.775’

y y With extension and riprap. Old motorcycle’s trail above road, rilling towards. Repaired 2005.

0.6(7) New overside drain

y With riprap

0.7 overside drain With riprap 0.8 New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.8(5) New riprap y y Existing overside drain. Repaired 2005 0.9 New riprap y Existing overside drain. 1.5 Gate at Barona Mesa with horse gate and

OHV gate). WEST SIDE TRUCK TRAIL - Ramona Oaks to Mount Tom. Mileage started at gate. Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 33º00.157’ 116º45.239’

Photo of area with straw wattles (fiber rolls).

0.0(1) Riprap 0.0(5) New overside

drain y With riprap, dip.

0.1 New overside drain

y With riprap, dip.

0.1(3) New riprap, improved dip

Existing overside drain

0.1(6) 2 overside drains

0.1(8) New riprap y Existing overside drain. Berm improved in parts along road (where new overside drain installed).

0.2 New overside drain

y With new riprap.

100

100

0.2(5) Added fill & riprap above and below

y y Existing overside drain. Repaired 2005

0.2(7) New overside drain

y With riprap

0.2(9) New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.3 New riprap y Existing overside drain. 0.3(3) New overside

drain y New riprap

0.3(7) New overside drain

y New riprap

0.4 New overside drain

y New riprap

0.4(3) New overside drain

y New riprap, reinforced berm. Repaired 2005.

0.4(4) New overside drain

y New riprap

0.4(7) New overside drain

y New and existing drain. Added new one believed removing old one would cause more disturbance.

0.5 New overside drain

y With riprap

0.5(4) New riprap y Existing overside drain 0.6 Overside drain y With riprap 0.6(4) New overside

drain y With riprap

0.6(8) New overside drain

y With riprap

0.7 Large rock in channel

0.8 Lead off 0.9 New riprap y In channel 1.2 New riprap y In small channel 1.4 Lead out 1.4(6) Lead out 1.4(8) Lead out 1.5 End, turn around point Old/Grand Prix Fire Road Logs BAILEY CANYON ROAD #2N49 - Mileage begins at intersection of Palm Ave and 2N49. Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 Reference pt. Intersection of of Palm Ave and 2N49

0.02 Reference pt. Gate 0.07 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 30 ft flume extension 0.09 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 30 ft flume extension

101

101

0.17 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 30 ft flume extension

0.55 Remove material

y Remove stockpiled material on cutback

0.73 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 10 ft flume extension / add riprap

1.03 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 60 ft flume extension

1.11 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 60 ft flume extension

1.18 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 40 ft flume extension

1.21 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

1.23 Little Mac y Riprap added for outlet protection

1.3 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 60 ft flume extension / riprap

1.4 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 30 ft flume extension / riprap

1.42 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 40 ft flume extension / riprap

1.49 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

1.84 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 20 ft flume extension / riprap

2.5 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

2.52 Double Big Mac

y Repair damaged inlet and starter sections by jacking open and installing stakes or bars to support inlet section.

2.74 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

3.44 Little Mac y Remove and reinstall outlet structure 3.84 Grouted rock

spillway y Removed stockpiled material on bank

4.38 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 30 ft flume extension

4.43 Overside drain y

Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 30 ft flume extension

4.71 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal spillway with 10 ft flume extension

4.78 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 10 ft flume extension / riprap

102

102

4.96 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

5.04 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 10 ft flume extension / riprap

5.11 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap

5.47 Reference Road to left

5.52 Rolling dip w. overside drain

y Construct rolling dip and install overside drain w. 30 ft flume extension / riprap

5.96 Intersect 2N45 End work

BIG TREE CUCAMONGA #1N34 Mileage begins at intersection of Lytle Cr Road and 1N34 Mileage Treatment GPS pt 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair Work and repair description

0.0 Intersection of Lytle Cr. Rd and 1N34

Reference

0.02 Gate Reference 0.09 End pavement Reference 1.04 Intersect 2N57 Reference 1.15 Little Mac

overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension / riprap 1.24 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 1.45 Little Mac

overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 15 ft flume extension / riprap 1.47 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 15 ft flume extension / riprap 2.38 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 10 ft flume extension 2.45 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension / riprap 2.49 Switchback Reference 2.60 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 2.63 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 3.0 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 10 ft flume extension / riprap 3.05 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 3.15 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 3.17 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 3.39 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 3.45 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

103

103

spillway with 10 ft flume extension / riprap 3.47 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 3.69 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 4.02 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 20 ft flume extension 4.17 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 4.4 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 4.61 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap 5.13 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension / riprap 5.22 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension / riprap 5.32 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 20 ft flume extension / riprap 5.58 Intersect 1N36 Reference 5.75 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 6.44 Overside drain y Remove and install 2-12 inch metal

spillway with 10 ft flume extension 6.46 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 10 ft flume extension / riprap 6.73 Rolling dip w.

overside drain y Construct rolling dip and install overside

drain w. 10 ft flume extension 7.58 Intersect

1N34B End work

Piru Fire Road Logs Dominquez unit

Dominquez Canyon (Dominquez Canyon Road) road log Mile pt

Treatment GPS pt 2004 repair

2004 /05 repair

Work and repair description

0.0 Reference Locked gate at junction of Piru Cyn Rd and

Dominquez Cyn Rd. 0.2 Low water

crossing (LWC) w/ K-rail #1

N 34°28.693 W 118° 46.464

y y Treatment was successful in 2004 K-rail placed at correct level (not too high or low) allowing for free flow of water across the road but still maintaining a decent grade for the road. Treatment failed in 2005.

0.3 Road grading

N 34° 28.708 W 118°

Road grading implemented to smooth out road. Graded material piled on channel side of road as a protective berm. A berm is appropriate where one does not want outsloping of road, especially where the road borders a drainage that is on an outside curve of high energy stream.

0.41 Reference Junction of Dominquez and Lime Canyon Road 0.7 Riprap N 34° Catch basin below culvert outlet armored with rock,

104

104

armoring below culvert

28.709 W 118° 46.914

and inlet armored also. At this location, road was narrowing due to cutting back of road. Riprap will help cut energy of water flow. Repaired in 2005

0.78 Riprap armoring

N 34° 28.725 W 118° 46.954

y y Original maintenance effort dumped a load of rock at site, but was inefficient in amount and also was poorly placed.

0.78 Re-treatment with K-rail vein structures

y y Repair treatment used 5 K-rails placed as “vein structures”. They were placed within the channel such that they stuck out into channel tilting downward. The purpose of this treatment was to slow the energy of the water through the curve. Treatment was completed in November 2004. It was planned to place erosion pins here to monitor bank Erosion pins showed that 10 inches of rock were eaten away by 2004-2005 storm events.

0.98 to 1.0

Matthew’s Ranch (cabin)

N 34° 28.756 W 118° 47.146

BAER implementation team designed a K-rail retaining structure to help protect the road past Matthew’s cabin. Allen King argued that the treatment addressed the road problem, but did not address the acceleration of the stream into the bank during storm events, that was a potential future threat to Matthew’s cabin. This resulted in the construction stoppage of the K-rail retaining structure. Road engineer and Allen King both agreed and stopped construction of K-rail retaining wall. The new design structure for the stream curve has been left to United Water District and the NRCS, since a land survey needs to be done. If on private lands, it was decided to leave work to the above mentioned, and not involve the US Forest Service. Erosion pins have been placed into the bank below Matthew’ cabin to monitor the stream bank erosion here.

1.0 Road widening

Road cutback on inside to widen road approximately 2 feet.

1.1 Armoring (rip-rap)

N 34° 28.796 W 118° 47.193

y y Improved armoring to east-side inlet of 36” culvert. Riprap also added to outside curb of stream to stabilize road hillslope. Repaired in 2005.

1.13 Riprap y y Riprap added to outside curve of channel bordering road to stabilize road fill-slope. Repaired 2005.

1.2 LWC #2 w/ K-rail. 36” culvert replaced.

N 34° 28.802’ W 118° 47.248’

y yy Removed a 36” culvert. Caretaker (rancher) of land originally paid for culvert to be built, so he wanted it replaced and not have an LWC. K-rail was first placed too high, had to be lowered. Maintenance team came out and lowered K-rail in May 2004, also lowered the vertical curve of the road. Further monitoring needed. Culvert was returned after K-rails failed during 2004-2005 storms.

1.23 LWC w/ K-rail #3

N 34° 28.859’ W 118° 47.280’

y y Treatment working in 2004, some sediment being deposited on road. K-rail placed very deep, so was working. Gradient of stream is slight. K-rails failed in 2005.

1.26 LWC w/ K - N 34° yy y,y K-rail lowered in May, 2004, originally placed too

105

105

rail #4 28.888’ W 118° 47.304’

high. K-rail failed in 2005.

1.3 LWC w/ K -rail #5

N 34° 28.919’ W 118° 47.333’

y y Treatment worked in 2004. Most of flow here was underground. K-rail placed low enough. Area has infilled about a foot of sediment since fire. Vertical curve of road was also raised here to prevent water from running down the road. Armored downstream side of road. K-rail failed in 2005.

1.4 LWC w/ K -rail #6

yyyy yy K-rails were originally placed too high here with no spillway or low point. After storm events, they were eroding away at toe (undercutting). There was no low-point in the middle to act as a spillway (fairly flat across). At this location, there is a confluence of 2 different streams. During one of the earlier flows after a storm event, water worked itself around the K-rails. This was repaired by adding 2 more K-rails. The next storm resulted in further erosion around the newly placed K-rails, introducing up to 3-4 ft of new sediment. This was repaired in May by lowering and moving the K-rails further nearer the bank, and creating a spillway toward the center. Large boulders were re-arranged to further protect the bank. This area has been repaired a total of 4 times. There is a large amount of sediment perched above the road, in the lower channel across from the K-rails. The bedloaded sediment was left because road grading has created a man-made nick point between the road (low point) and sediment remaining in channel (high point). Downstream side of road was armored. Further monitoring is needed here. (Height of stream elevation raised too much, relative to roadway. Need to increase height of road (crest curve/vertical curve) about one foot so that high flows don’t flow down road – Allen King 1-29-04). (1-29-04 – increased crest curve just before entering LWC). K-rail treatments failed in 2005, with sections of k-rails transported up to a mile downstream.

1.5 LWC w/ K-rail #7

N 34° 28.929’ W 118° 47.577’

y y K-rails placed low enough at edge of concrete “spillways”. Large amount of rock armoring, originally had just been dumped, so came back in and did specific placement of rock. Armored downstream side of road. (1-29-04 – open space between K-rail and concrete needed to be grouted to eliminate scour and cavitation. Site with pipe diverting water to rancher). K-rails failed in 2005.

1.6 Riprap/rolling dip

y y Riprap placed at side-slope of road to break the energy of water flows. Early placement of rock at edge of rolling dip did not protect slope. 1-29-04 replaced rock on fill where it would be more effective.

1.7 Riprap/rolling dip

1.8 LWC w/ K- N 34° yy yy 36” culvert removed. Surfacing was added at first

106

106

rail #8. Culvert replaced.

28.851’ W 118° 47.807’

but was being gullied by creek flow (1-29-04). It would also probably wash away during next storm because it was placed too high, LWC placed too high (~1 ft) above level of K-rail. K-rail placed too high at first, then lowered with spillway added. Riprap was added in May. K-rail failed in 2005.

1.97 Culvert replaced

N 34° 28.818’ W 118° 47.911’

y y Maple Creek crossing – 12” culvert replaced with 48” culvert. Riprap added to inlet and outlet. Rolling dip maintained and upgraded here just below 48” culvert to keep Maple Cr. overflow from flowing down road. Added large rocks to keep Dominquez Cr. from eroding fill. No berm installed at rolling dip. Treatment working in 2005. Only work done was cleaning out culvert.

1.98 to 2.1

Channel check dams

N 34° 28.760’ W 118° 47.976’

Start of LEB’s in channel. Group A consisted of 12 check dams. No remediation or repair has been done to this lower section of LEB’s.

2.0 Rolling dip with lead-off drain

104-0408 (50)

y Riprap armoring added below outflow drain.

2.0 “Debris” Also located at other similar places. Tree branches and other log debris piled in gullies. Debris material should be cleared out and disposed of properly. Debris will not reduce erosion, but will be floated downstream during high flows. In 2005, heavy rains transported debris, and was then removed.

2.05 Culvert replaced

y y Culvert replaced and enlarged to 36” and riprap added with armoring at inlet and outlet. Working in 2005, only needed cleanout.

2.1 Geo-textile fabric w. jute

Geo-textile fabric with jute was added on slope bordering road located above the culvert.

2.1 Culvert replaced

N 34° 28.713’ W 118° 48.055’

y Old 48” concrete pipe culvert replaced with new 60” culvert. Culvert was 80% plugged after fire and 2003 Christmas Day storm. Old concrete culvert broken up and used as riprap. Inlet of culvert was not placed at the correct angle in relation to the direction of the drainage. Outlet was placed too high.

2.1 Road grading

y y Major grading was completed on road above culvert. Roadway was channeling water. Road dips were installed and road was built up in places. Regraded in 2005.

2.2 Rolling dips y Regraded in 2005. 2.3 Up gate Gate with combination lock 2.35 Rolling dip y Rolling dip with lead off drain installed (Little Mac

w/ 60’ drop). Regraded in 2005. 2.4 Rolling dip 2.4 to 2.5

3 channel check dams

Group B of 3 LEB’s placed above the up gate. No remediation done to these.

2.5 Rolling dip y Rolling dips from 2.5 to 3.1 all with lead-off drains. Rolling dips were modified (steeper and taller).

2.6 Rolling dip 2.66 Rolling dip

107

107

2.72 Rolling dip 2.79 Rolling dip 2.82 Rolling dip 2.88 Rolling dip 2.92 Rolling dip 3.01 Rolling dip 3.1 Rolling dip 3.1 to 3.25

Channel check dams

LEB), 025 (#10 LEB) N 34° 28.603’ W 118° 48.503’ N 34° 28.568’ W 118° 48.585’

y Group C set of 10 LEB’s. Remediation done. LEB C-10 removed completely, C-9 (photo 53) notched, C-7 (photo 54) notched at side, C-6 removed completely, C-5 removed east-side 2/3’s, C-4 removed completely, C-3 removed west 1/3, C-2 nothing done, and C-1 removed west ½.

3.19 Rolling dip 3.25 Road

Junction Junction to Dominquez Ranch and to Ridge Top

3.2 to 3.3

Channel check dams

N 34° 28.606’ W 118° 48.707’ N 34° 28.615’ W 118° 48.688’

y Group of 9 LEB’s (2 in side draw, and 7 in other side drainage. Some have been notched in middle. LEB D-1 removed, D-3 notched spillway middle about 10” notched, D-4, D-5, D-6, D-7, D-8, and D-9 nothing done.

3.3 LWC yy y,y Previously was a LWC. Backhole was brought in to install LEB’s, caused some damage to the drainage. Storms caused excessive damage to road here. Road was repaired partially by bringing in rock to build up spillway. Rock was added to channel for armoring where LEB’s were notched or removed. More rock armoring was planned here. Repaired again in 2005.

3.4 Rolling dip Junction, bear to left for beginning of Ridge Top Road, bear right for private ranch property.

3.48 Fence-line (Reference only)

No gate

3.6 y y Need rolling dips constructed here to prevent gullying. Gullies from 1 to 1.5 ft deep are forming down road, center and side. Need to get drainage off road. Rolling dips added here in Nov 2004. Road was repaired again after winter storms 2005.

108

108

Sespe unit Entrance to Oak Flat (Intersection of Goodenough Rd and Squaw Flat Road) to Old Ranger Station

Mile pt

Treatment GPS point 2004 repair

2004 /05 repair

Work and repair description

0.0 Reference Intersection of County route (Goodenough Road),

and Forest Service Road (Squaw Flat Road).

0.7 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 27.265’ W 118° 50.000’

yy

y,y The 24” culvert was 80% plugged, cleaned out after late Feb 2004 storm. Repair work also done 06/22/04. Repair done in 2005

0.725 Cleaned culvert

y The 24” culvert was plugged, cleaned out after late Feb 2004 storm. Repair work done again in 2005

0.9 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 27.311’ W 118° 54.879’

y The 24” culvert was plugged, cleaned out after late Feb 2004 storm. Repair work done.

0.925 Cleaned culvert

y y The 24” culvert was plugged, cleaned out after late Feb 2004 storm. Repair work done again in 2005.

1.0 Road grading

y y Grading to remove mud slide (280 cu. yds.). Late Feb 2004 storms. Repair work done again in 2005.

1.1 Road grading

y y Grading to remove mud slide (20 cu. yds.) Late Feb 2004 storms. Repair work done again in 2005.

1.7 Grade repair N 34° 27.542’ W 118° 54.195’

y y Eroded gully on inside of roadway (100 ft long, 1.5 ft wide, and 1 ft deep. Late Feb 2004 storms. Repair work done again in 2005.

1.9 Road grading/LWC

N 34° 27.566’ W 118° 54.158’

y y Removed approximately 280 cu. yds of mud, rock, and debris from paved LWC. Late Feb 2004 storms. Repair work done Mar 6. Repair also done in 2005.

2.3 Road grading to raise rolling dip

y Road was graded at this location.

2.0 to 2.5

Dry ravel deposition

N 34° 27.821’ W 118° 54.403’

Dry ravel material still being deposited.

2.5 Rolling dip with lead out

N 34° 27.943’ W 118° 54.400’

No repair needed here.

2.62 Rolling dip with lead out

N 34° 27.970’ W 118° 54.322’

2.62 Cleaned culvert

y y 36” culvert cleaned out, concrete-filled sand bags used as armoring at inlet. Repeated in 2005.

2.8 Rolling dip N W 118°

109

109

with lead out 54.231’34°28.126’

2.9 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 28.166’ W 118° 54.282’

36” culvert cleaned out and armored with concrete-filled sandbags. Cleanout repeated in 2005.

3.1 Culvert extension

N 34° 28.124’ W 118° 54.409’

3.3 Rolling dip with lead out

Table 4.5. Ranger Station to Dough Flat

Mile pt Treatment GPS point 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair

Work and repair description

0.0 Reference Old ranger station 0.19 Rolling dip

with lead out

N 34° 28.326’ W 118° 54.631’

0.21 Road grading

0.4 48” culvert N 34° 28.452’ W 118° 54.817’

Replaced old culvert with new 48” culvert. Cleaned out in 2005.

0.5 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 28.493’ W 118° 54.866’

yy y 24” culvert cleaned out. Plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Also removed 30 cu. yds mud, sand, and rock. Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.6 Big Mac N 34° 28.538’ W 118° 54.932’

yy y Low water crossing with Big Mack (concreted rock spillway). Washed out in late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Repaired in 2005 with concrete spillway and rip rap.

0.65 Rolling dip with lead out

y Metal overside drain added.

0.7 Rolling dip with lead out (overside drain)

New metal overside drain installed here

0.8 Big Mac N 34° 28.600’ W 118° 55.061’

y y Big Mac with LWC was installed. Washed out in late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Repaired in 2005.

1.3 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 28.706’ W 118° 55.146’

y y Old culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

1.6 Rolling dip y Overside drain added.

110

110

with lead out

1.75 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 28.706’ W 118° 55.146’

y y 24” culvert with sandbag armoring cleaned out after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Work completed in Mar 2004. Cleaned out again in 2005.

1.8 Rolling dip with lead out

1.84 Riprap added at culvert

N 34° 28.943’ W 118° 54.833’

y y Riprap added at outlet of 24” culvert, extended overside drain. Cleaned out culvert in 2005

2.0 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 28.985’ W 118° 54.812’

y y Old 36” culvert cleaned out in 2004 and 2005.

2.1 Rolling dip with lead out

2.3 Cleaned culvert/ LWC

y y Old 36” culvert armored with cement-filled sand bags and cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

2.5 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 36” culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

2.58 Rolling dip with lead out (overside drain)

y Regraded in 2005.

2.6 Road grading and debris removal

y y Mud slide of 100 cu. yds on entire width of roadway after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Repair work done in Mar 2004. More grading done in 2005.

2.75 LWC y Regraded 2005. 2.8 Flood

gate/oil catcher

y y Flood gate/oil catcher silted to top after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), removed 200 cu. yds material here in Mar 2004.

3.0 to 3.1

Flood gate/oil catcher, LWC

N 34° 29.179’ W 118° 53.996’

5 Maple Cr. Landing. Flood gate/oil catcher silted to top after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), removed 300 cu. yds material in Mar 2004, and also 2005.

3.18 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 24” culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

3.21 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 18” culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

3.3 Culvert extension

y y Culvert extension placed on 36” culvert. Culvert cleaned out 2005.

3.4 Cleaned culverts

N 34° 29.372’ W 118° 53.827’

y 2- 30” culverts plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), removed 100 cu. yds of debris in Mar 2004. Cleaned out again in 2005.

3.51 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 24” culvert cleaned out in 2004 and 2005.

111

111

3.63 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 24” culvert cleaned out in 2004 and 2005.

3.66 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 18” culvert cleaned out 2004 and 2005

3.72 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 24” culvert cleaned out in 2004 and 2005.

3.81 Lead off (overside drain)

3.9 Rolling dip with lead off

y Lead off flume structure added to lead off.

3.98 Rolling dip with lead off

4.1 Little Mac N 34° 29.553’ W 118° 54.126’

y Washed out Little Mack overside drain.

4.23 Cleaned culvert

y Riser placed at inlet to culvert.

4.31 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.693’ W 118° 54.042’

y y Old 18” culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

4.4 Rolling dip with lead off

4.5 Cleaned culvert

y y Old 24” culvert cleaned out both in 2004 and 2005.

4.6 Reference Junction of Tar Creek and Dough Flat Road 4.61 New bridge N 34°

29.702’ W 118° 53.780’

New 15 by ft arch “bridge” construction. This was not part of BAER.

4.62 Flood gate/oil catcher

y y Flood gate/oil catcher silted to top after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), removed 75 cu. yds material in Mar 2004.

4.73 Riprap 7.0 Stream

crossing (Reference only)

Stream crossing. Entrance to Dough Flat trail head

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112

Maple Road

Mile pt Treatment GPS

point 2004

repair 2004 /05 repair

Work and repair description

0.05 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.159’ W 118° 53.874’

y y 24” culvert half-plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.2 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.116’ W 118° 53.743’

y y 24” culvert plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.3 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.134’ W 118° 53.675’

y y 24” culvert plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.4 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.156’ W 118° 53.578’

y y 30” culvert plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.7 Cleaned culvert

N 34° 29.035’ W 118° 53.462’

y y 24” culvert plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

0.95 Cleaned culvert

y y 24” culvert plugged after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs), cleaned out in Mar 2004). Cleaned out again in 2005.

1.0 LWC 1.09 Rolling dip

with lead off N 34° 28.318’ W 118° 54.303’

Table 4.7. Shale Ridge Road

Mile pt

Treatment GPS point

2004 repair 2005 repair

Work and repair description

0.1 Repaired lead-off ditch

y 2 cu. yds of riprap added at outlet.

0.3 Installed new culvert pipe

104-0441 (83)

yy y 60” arch culvert pipe washed out after late Feb storm (6 inches in 6 hrs). Installed new pipe. Added 5 cu. yds riprap at outlet. Reconstructed roadway ditch 100 ft. Reconstructed fill at pipe outlet with ~150 cu yds of material. Repaired and cleaned out in 2005.

0.4 Replaced culvert

y y Removed and replaced existing 30” culvert with 60” culvert. Installed 100 cu. yds riprap at inlet and outlet face. Cleaned out in 2005.

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113

Table 4.8. Burma/Hopper Road

Mile pt

Treatment GPS point

2004 repair

2004 /05 repair

Work and repair description

0.0 Reference Junction of Burma Road and Tar Road

0.05 Cleaned and repaired culvert

0.05 Installed rolling dip

y y Installed rolling dip below existing culvert and repaved. Cleaned out culvert and inlet basin. Installed 15 cu. yds riprap at inlet face and 6 cu. yds riprap at outlet. Cleaned culvert out in 2005.

0.29 Added riprap at culvert

y Installed 20 cu. yds riprap at inlet.

0.33 Added riprap at culvert

y Installed 20 cu. yds riprap at inlet.

0.8 Raised rolling dip

y Reconstructed and raised existing modified paved dip 1 ft.

0.9 Reshaped rolling dip

y 15 ft and 50 ft each side of dip. Regraded again in 2005.

1.0 Paved and raised dip

Reconstruct and raise existing road dip 1 ft.

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114

Site # 1 Date: 3/11/2004 Treatment type:

straw heli-mulching

Location (name) Mojave West Estimated Cover %: 40-60% GPS site location – see photo in report Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents

Precipitation: 10-20 inches

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation: 4,600- 5,300 ft Landform: backslope

slope % 37% Microfeatures:

aspect 20° NE Slope shape: Down slope Across

slope length: 400 ft crest to channel convex convex

Parent material metamorphic vegetation Depth to bedrock

50-60 cm % cover channel side-slope

Soil texture ls to sl (sandy loam) Species:

Surface rock: 50-70% gravels, cobble, stones grass 0 Mixed chaparral

some large rock 2 to 3 ft in size forb 0

Erosion shrub 5% chamise, scrub oak

rill none tree 0 (no resprouting)

gully none

sheet none Photo point direction

bedload none fines flushed out Time of day 10:45

Notes: No resprouting nor any signs of grasses or forbes. Scrub oak skeletons thick near drainage.

Appendix E Site descriptions of treatment areas including: slope, aspect, elevation, precipitation, soil type, vegetation community, geology, and geomorphic description.

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115

Site # 2 Date: 3/11/2004 Treat ment type: s traw heli-mulch ing

Location (na me ) Mojave W est Es timated Cover %: 40-50% in swale

GPS (s ite location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Typic Xerorthents

Precip itation: 10-20 inches Surface mor phome try Geomor phic location

Elevation: 4,600- 5,300 ft Landform: large swale (bowl) s ides lope

s lope % 36% , 14% s ides lope of swale (140° SE) Microfeatures

aspect 260° W down drainage 320° NW Slope shape Down s lope Across

s lope length: concave concave

Parent materia l metamorphic (gneiss?) vegetation

Depth to bedrock

50-60 cm % cover channel s ide-s lope

Soil te xture ls to s l (sandy loam) species Surface rock: 50-60% cobble to s tone s ize rocks grass 0

few s tone s ize forb 5

Erosion shrub chamise, scrub oak rill none tree (resprouting) gully none sheet none Photo point direction bedload none Time o f day 10:15 Notes: Area where fire severity was high. At this time no evidence of resprouting

Site # 3 Date : 3/1 1/2 00 4 T rea t men t ty p e : Straw h e li- mu lch

Lo ca tio n (n a me ) M o jav e W est Es timated Co v er % : ran g e 10 to 60% ,

GPS (s ite lo ca tio n ) ma jo r ity < 30 % So il family : Trigo Family (map un it 6) Taxonom ic c la ss: lo a my , m ixed , n o n ac id , th er m ic , s h a llo w T y p ic Xero rth en ts Prec ip ita tio n : 1 0- 20 in ch es

S urface m or pho me try Ge o m or phic loca tio n

E lev a tio n : 4 ,600- 5 ,300 ft Lan d fo r m : fo o ts lo p e a t chan n el

s lo p e % 28 s id es lo p es 22% W , 3 1% E M icro fea tu res lin ear d ra in ag e

as p ect ch an n el 0° N s id es lo p es 280 ° W , 10 0° E Slo p e s h ap e Do wn s lo p e A cro ss

s lo p e len g th : u n kn o wn (u p ch an n el - co n v ex to co n cav e)

Paren t materia l meta mo rp h ic veg eta tio n Dep th to b ed ro ck

50 cm % co v er ch an n el s id e-s lo p e

So i l te xtu re ls (lo a my s an d ) to s l (s an d y lo am ) 0 60 s p ec ies

Su rface ro ck: 50 -8 0% co b b le s ize ro cks g rass 0

few g rav e l an d s to n e s ize fo rb 0

Eros ion s h ru b 15% ch am is e , s c ru b o ak

ri l l n o n e tree (n o t res p ro u tin g )

g u lly n o n e

s h eet n o n e Ph o to p o in t d irec tio n 0° N

b ed lo ad Sto n e-s ize ro c ks in ch an n el T ime o f d ay 11 :50

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116

Site # 5 Date: 3/11/04 Treat ment type:

s traw heli-mu lching

Location (na me ) W est Fork M o jave E-s ide Es timated Cover %: 40%

GPS (s ite location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loa my, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precip itation: 10-20 inches

S urface mor phome try Ge omor phic location

Elevation:

4,600- 5,300 ft Landform: Lowe r backs lope

s lope % 14 Microfeatures

aspect 60° NE Slope shape Down s lope Across

s lope length: >1,000 ft linear convex and concave

Parent materia l meta morphic vegetation Depth to bedrock ? % cover channel

s ide-s lope

Soil te xture s l (s andy loam) species

Surface rock: rock outcrops grass 5

forb 10

Eros ion shrub 5% chamise, s crub oak

rill none tree man janita (resprouting)

gully none

s heet none Photo point direction

bedload none Time o f day

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117

Site # 6 Date: 3/11/2004 Treatment type: Straw heli-mulch

Location (name) Mojave East Estimated Cover %: 10 to 15%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precipitation: 10-20 inches

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location

Elevation: 4,600- 5,300 ft Landform: lower backslope

slope % 39 Microfeatures

aspect 20° NE Slope shape Down slope Across slope length: >1,000 ft concave concave Parent material metamorphic (gneiss?) vegetation Depth to bedrock ? % cover channel

side-slope

Soil texture sl (sandy loam) 0 species Surface rock: 60-80% cobble to stone size rocks grass 0

forb 0

Erosion shrub 10% manjanita, oak

rill none tree thick stand of oak

gully none (not resprouting)

sheet none Photo point direction

bedload 6-12 inch accumulat ion in bowl formation Time of day 11:30

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118

Site # 1 to 6 Date: 3/11/04 Treatment type: Straw hand-mulch

Location (name) Hooks Creek Estimated Cover %: 40-60%, on summit only 10-20%

GPS (site location) cover, more exposed to wind, wrapped around chamise skeletons Soil family: Morical (map unit 4) Taxonomic class: fine-loamy, mixed, mesic Mollic Haploxeralfs. Precip itation: 20-35 inches

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location

Elevation: 6,000 ft Landform: summit or ridge top and shoulder

slope % 46-55% ridge 10% steepens Microfeatures

to 30% (220° S)

aspect 300° NW Slope shape Down slope Across

slope length:

>1000 ft linear convex

Parent material ? vegetation Depth to bedrock unknown % cover channel side-slope Soil texture sl (sandy loam) 0 species Surface rock: 50% gravel grass 0

forb 0

Erosion shrub 0%

rill <5% of crest minor tree Ponderosa pine, black oak (resprouting

gully none delayed by elevation (>6,000 ft).

sheet none Photo point direction

bedload none Time o f day 10:30

Notes: Hazard trees (pines) felled and used as LEB's. At risk, burned and unburned homes at

bottom of slope. Only cover is straw mulch. No surface rock and litt le organic material.

Soil is of very loose consistency.

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119

Site # 1 Date: 3/11/2004 Treatment type: Straw hand-mulch

Location (name) Grand Prix/Devore Estimated Cover %: <5%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precip itation: 10-20 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location

Elevation: 2,800 ft Landform: crest

slope % 55 Microfeatures

aspect 60° NE Slope shape Down slope Across

slope length: 150 ft

Parent material metamorphic vegetation Depth to bedrock unknown % cover channel

side-slope

Soil texture ls (loamy sand) 0 species

Surface rock: 60% gravel grass 5

forb 5

Erosion shrub 10% chamise resprouting,

rill <5% minor tree scrub oak

gully none

sheet none Photo point direction

bedload none Time of day 15:30

Notes: Hand-mulched straw blown of-site by strong winds. It has accumulated and clumped beneath

chamise skeletons. It may hamper resprouting by shading out light.

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120

Site # 5 Date: 3/11/2004 Treatment type: Straw hand-mulch

Location (name) Grand Prix/Devore Estimated Cover %: <5%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precip itation: 10-20 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation: 2,800 ft Landform: shoulder

slope % 26% shoulder, 46% backslope Microfeatures

aspect 160° S Slope shape Down slope Across

slope length: 150 ft convex convex

Parent material metamorphic vegetation Depth to bedrock unknown % cover channel

side-slope

Soil texture ls (loamy sand) 0 species

Surface rock: 80% gravel grass 5

forb 5

Erosion shrub 10% chamise resprouting

rill <5% minor tree

gully none

sheet none Photo point direction

bedload none Time of day 15:00

Notes: Hand-mulched straw blown of-site by strong winds. It has accumulated and clumped beneath

chamise skeletons. It may hamper resprouting by shading out light.

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121

Site # 2 Date: 3/10/2004 Treat ment type: Straw ba le check da m

Location (na me ) Deer Park Resort./Devore Es timated Cover %

GPS (s ite location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loa my, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xero rthents Precip itation: 10-20 in

Surface mor phome try Ge omor phic locati on

Elevation: 2,300 ft Landform: ma in channel

s lope % 24 Microfeatures new depos ition recut by

recent s torms

aspect 0° N Slope shape Down s lope Across s lope length: s ide s lopes , 150 ft N-fac ing, (up channel - convex to concave) 300 ft S -fac ing Parent materia l meta morphic vegetation Depth to bedrock 30-50 c m on s ides lopes % cover channel s ide-s lope

Soil te xture ls (loa my sand) 50,30* species Surface rock: in channel grass 0

100% s tones (8-10 in) forb wild cucu mber

Erosion shrub elderberry, po ison oak

rill none tree

gully yes , recutting out new depos ition in channel

sheet none Photo point direction 0° N

bedload 3 to 4 ft cut (incis ing)into bedoad below Time o f day 11:19

check dam.

Notes: * 50% cover below ck da m, 30% cover above ck da m. F irs t ma jor s torm

(Chris t mas Day) filled up s torage area behind check dams to capacity. F low fro m

subsequent s torms flow over the da ms, thus there is no energy abatement. Unabated

flow cuts deeply into stored channel sediment on the lowe r s ide of check da m. At some

flows go around check dams cutting into the bank ,da ms fail at the s ides when flo ws

cut into around the check gullies . Ne w depos ition is being cut by newly formed gu llies

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122

Site # 3 Date: 3/10/2004 Treatment type: Straw bale check dam

Location (name) Deer Park Resort./Devore Estimated Cover %

GPS (site location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precip itation: 10-20 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation: 2,300 ft Landform: main channel

slope % 30-40% upper channel Microfeatures new deposition recut by recent

storms

aspect 180° S up channel Slope shape Down slope Across slope length: 150 ft to change in slope gradient (up channel - convex to concave) Parent material metamorphic, a lluvium vegetation Depth to bedrock 30-50 cm on sideslopes % cover channel side-slope

Soil texture ls (loamy sand) 0 60 species Surface rock: in channel 100% grass 0

stones (8-10 in) forb Same a site 2

Erosion shrub Same a site 2

rill yes, on side-slope S-facing below ck dam tree

gully yes, on side-slope S-facing below ck dam

sheet none Photo point direction 0° N

bedload 3 ft o f new deposition deposited over Time of day 11:50

original 3-4 ft bedload (total 7 ft) cut (incising) into bedoad 2-3 ft deep

Notes: NW facing side slope very steep. There is evidence of ravel movement (cone shaped

depsition at bottom with coarse-grained materia l settling out last).

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123

Site # 6a, 6b, 6c Date: 3/10/2004

Treatment type: Straw bale check dam

Location (name) Deer Park Resort.Devore Cover % 61%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Trigo Family (map unit 6) Taxonomic class: loamy, mixed, nonacid, thermic, shallow Typic Xerorthents Precipitation: 10-20 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation 2,300 ft Landform: side channel

slope Microfeatures

aspect 40° 260° Slope shape Down slope Across

slope length 255 ft Parent material alluvium vegetation Depth to bedrock unknown % cover 15 species

Soil texture ls (loamy sand) grass

Surface rock in channel forb wild cucumber

shrub posion oak, scrub oak

Erosion tree

rill

gully

sheet Photo point direction

bedload Time of day 12;11

Notes: Steep side channel. All check dams failed. Incising below check dam.

124

124

Viejas – Granitic parent material

Site # 1 Date: 4-5-2004 Treatment type: Aerial hydromulch

Location Viejas Mountain Cover % 16%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Cieneba-Fallbrook Taxonomic class: rocky sandy loam 30-65% slopes Precip itation: 20

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation 2100 ft Landform:

bbb k l backslope

Slope 35 % Microfeatures

Aspect NE Slope shape Across slope length ~100 ft linear linear Parent material Gran itic vegetation Depth to bedrock 70 cm % cover 20 species chaparral

Soil texture Sandy loam

Grass report

Surface rock <5% Forb See report

Shrub

Erosion tree Rill no

Gully no

Sheet yes Photo point direction

Bedload no Time o f day

Site descriptions: Cedar Fire (Alpine area-granitic)

125

125

Viejas – Granitic parent material

Site # 1 Date: 4-5-2004 Treatment type: Aerial hydromulch

Location Viejas Mountain Cover % 16%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Cieneba-Fallbrook Taxonomic class: rocky sandy loam 30-65% slopes Precip itation: 23-27 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation 2100 ft Landform:

bbb k l backslope

Slope 35 % Microfeatures

Aspect NE Slope shape Across slope length ~100 ft linear linear Parent material Gran itic vegetation Depth to bedrock 70 cm % cover 20 species chaparral

Soil texture Sandy loam

Grass report

Surface rock <5% Forb See report

Shrub

Erosion tree Rill no

Gu lly no

Sheet yes Photo point direction

Bedload no Time of day

Notes:

126

126

Straw wattles

Site # 3 Date: 4-5-2004 Treatment type: Straw wattles

Location (name) San Diego Country Estates Cover % 30%

GPS (site location) Soil family: Cieneba-Fallbrook (CnG2) Taxonomic class: rocky sandy loams 30-65% slopes Precip itation: 22 in

Surface morphometry Geomorphic location Elevation 1520 ft Landform: backslope

slope 40% Microfeatures

aspect NE Slope shape Down slope Across

slope length 400 ft linear linear Parent materia l granitic vegetation Depth to bedrock 50 cm % cover 25% species chaparral

Soil texture Sandy loam grass no

Surface rock 10% forb yes

shrub yes

Erosion tree no

rill yes

gully no

sheet yes Photo point direction

bedload yes Time of day

Notes:

Site descriptions: Cedar Fire (San Diego Country Estates)