San Vicente Redwoods is a unique partnership between the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Sempervirens Fund, San Vicente Redwoods, and Save the Redwoods League. On May 12th, the partners hosted two groups—the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force and Together Bay Area—on the property to learn about the wildfire prevention and restoration projects taking place there.

Severely burned in the CZU fire in 2020, San Vicente Redwoods has thousands of acres of standing dead trees. The burning of the forest canopy has allowed many plants to grow that normally can’t survive in shady conditions. For example, Yerba Santa, a fragrant bushy plant that was scarce at San Vicente Redwoods before the CZU fire, is now everywhere. Some of the plants are over eight feet tall! This thriving understory combined with standing dead timber is a scary recipe for another hot fire.

That is why the Land Trust partners are creating a large, shaded fuel break along a road that bisects the 8,600-acre property. This involves cutting back vegetation and removing dead trees. But what do you do with such a massive amount of charred lumber? Leaving it on the ground would provide fuel for the next fire. Burning it in piles would be extremely labor intensive and affect air quality.

On the morning tour led by CalFire Division Chief Rich Sampson, the Forest Task Force got to see the newest technology in forest management tools, including the air curtain burner and carbonator. Tree trunks are loaded using heavy equipment and burned at high temperatures, creating a constant “curtain” of air that keeps most of the smoke and embers from escaping. You can stand right next to the equipment and still breathe fresh air! The byproduct of all this burning? A little ash and some biochar, which is actually beneficial to the forest.

During the second walk with Together Bay Area, we discussed the San Vicente Redwoods trails project. So many of California’s agencies and land trusts are looking for ways to provide more connections to nature for their communities. This group of conservation professionals from as far away as Santa Barbara wanted to find out how we pulled this off at San Vicente Redwoods! Sometimes we can’t believe it ourselves!

While our parking lot took quite a beating after getting over 90 inches of rain (and snow!) this past winter—once you get out on the trails, it feels like another world. Similar to our other public access properties, the spring flower bloom has been spectacular. The bush poppies, which were also scarce pre-fire, put on a great show. Another plus to keep in mind—it’s above the fog line and almost always warm and sunny. We hope to see you on the trails soon! Just remember to check our website before visiting for trail closure alerts.

Want to read more? Check out the local media coverage:

California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force Holds Forum on Wildfire Management and More | Good Times

Felton a testing ground for new wildfire prevention philosophy - Press Banner | Scotts Valley, CA