Conner Smith
May 15, 2023
Chaparral is a major piece of the ecological identity of Santa Barbara
Walking the East Camino Cielo fuel break, the musky smell of black sage mingles with the sweeter aroma of sagebrush to create a cloud of scent so thick you can taste it. The air is viscous; pockets of mist eddy around the merlot trunks of manzanita that stay cool even in the heat of the Santa Ynez sun.
Amid this Tolkien-esque landscape, signs of recent clearing were all around. As we wound our way through both healthy and razed sections, Bryant Baker and other Los Padres ForestWatch staff pointed out areas that were burned in the 2017 Cave Fire. Regrowth from this fire stood in stark contrast to the desolate areas left behind by the chainsaws. Commenting on the impressive regrowth, Baker mused “the destruction is all people ever remember about that fire, this is what they miss out on.”
Whether you hike, hunt, bike, camp, or otherwise recreate in Santa Barbara county, chances are you’ve interacted closely with this landscape, our county’s dominant ecosystem – chaparral. Sage and sagebrush are just two of the more than 1100 species that make up this plant community characterized by deep roots, drought resistance, and infrequent fire.
Chaparral is a major piece of the ecological identity of Santa Barbara. It accounts for at least 25 percent of the total land area of the county. It covers the Santa Ynez mountains and commands an impressive 68 percent of the land share in Los Padres National Forest. Researchers have documented more than 400 vertebrates in California chaparral ecosystems, 37 percent of which are threatened to some degree. Chaparral shelters human life as well, buffering us against landslides and flooding by providing the root structure to hold both water and soil in an otherwise arid landscape.
Without chaparral, mudslides would be even more common in Santa Barbara’s front country. The fear of fire breeds amnesia – our focus on fire prevention undervalues the habitat and soil retention offered by our shrublands. The U.S. Forest Service, which owns the largest share of California’s chaparral at 40 percent, has helped foster a narrative that chaparral is “overgrown” and needs to be periodically cleared to prevent fire. This view counters research asserting that the age or growth stage of chaparral is not a reliable indicator of fire risk. Rather, the “overgrowth” narrative serves to justify clear cutting to create fuel breaks which serve to demonstrate to the public that agencies are acting boldly to address wildfire.
Frequent fires throughout California in recent years have provided ample opportunity to question fuel break efficacy. On the surface, these wide areas cleared of vegetation provide a gap in combustible material and allow firefighters to create fire lines. However, conditions on the frontlines of wildfire can change rapidly, turning an expensive fire management strategy into little more than a PR tool in some cases.
“I can't think of a single time since it's been constructed that it did what it was intended to do,” said Baker while walking the East Camino Cielo fuel break pictured above. This is a common refrain in Los Padres National Forest, where a 2011 study found that fuel breaks only stopped fire in 46 percent of cases. Federal agencies themselves have questioned whether fuel breaks are worth the ecological degradation they often bring. Across ecosystems, fuel breaks are much less likely to prove effective in dry, windy conditions – a common reality in our county.
Fire is a natural part of this ecosystem and it is common for chaparral to burn every 30 to 150 years. Human activities, habitat destruction, and climate change are coalescing to increase the frequency of fires in chaparral.
“Frequent fire begets frequent fire in these areas,” said Baker. He was speaking directly to the cycle initiated by clear cutting where chaparral is converted into open grassland filled with non-native species. This grass is highly flammable and does not provide the soil water retention and erosion control offered by healthy chaparral. Rather than reducing the risk of fire, these dry grasslands are a catalyst for ignition which can spread into the National Forest and nearby communities.
According to Los Padres Forest Watch, there are methods to reduce fire risk that do not require clear cutting. Baker stressed “we should be focusing fire prevention efforts down in the community.” Almost all of the fires in the National Forest are started by humans, indicating more can be done to reduce ignition where it begins. Preferred management strategies of the organization include fire awareness campaigns and retrofits (or “hardening”) of homes to make them more fire resistant.
This is one of many ways we can learn to coexist with fire. In a 2016 article, UC Cooperative Extension faculty Max Moritz states “a first step is to accept that fuel reduction is not a panacea.” Mortiz urges focus on proactive efforts like home hardening to reduce vulnerabilities, stressing that “vegetation-reduction efforts have uncertain effectiveness and must be revisited frequently - ranging from annually for grassy fuels to decadally for forested environments - without ever stopping.”
Some level of clearing to provide access to fire fighters is necessary. With limited resources, we should be asking how much we are willing to spend to continually maintain partially effective fuel breaks. Costs only increase for proposed projects located deep in the backcountry. There are several opportunities to advance strategies that protect communities and first responders while also reducing impacts on our wildland ecosystems. See ways you can take action to support our chaparral through the Los Padres Forest Watch action center.