Fire Ecology in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Learn about the impacts of fire and how natural areas recover.
Both the LNU Complex Fire and the Glass Fire impacted enormous swaths of Napa County in the fall of 2020. Many of the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District’s parks and trails were affected by the fires, and as of this writing, a few are still closed to public use while we continue to inspect and repair them.
We’re already seeing the start of healing and regrowth in our parks in the aftermath of the 2020 fires here in Napa County just a few short months later. This presents an interesting opportunity for us all to see and learn about the effects of fires on our natural areas as well as to document the recovery and healing process in real time.
We’ve been sharing photos and information about these processes over the past several months, and we’ll continue to find ways to help everyone learn from and participate in this. Below are two links that detail the effects of the fires in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park and surrounding State Parks.
California State Parks’ Story Map
Glass Fire Natural Resources Update
The California State Parks Bay Area District Natural Resource Management Program developed this story map as a walk through of the effects of the Glass Fire on local State Parks. This is a great resource for anyone interested in a look at the regional effects of the Glass Fire as well as a unique look at what comes next. With maps and details about the path of this fire, connections to past fires, and details about fire as a natural process and what comes next as nature heals, this is an excellent overview of fires in our local State Parks.
Click here to see the CA State Parks Glass Fire Story Map.
Wildfire Ecology in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Virtual 3rd Saturday Hike, February 2021
As a part of our monthly 3rd Saturday Hike series, we explored Bothe-Napa Valley State Park with our partners from California State Parks to learn more about the ecology surrounding wildfires and see what was under way already as the forest began to heal. Rosa Schneider, Senior Environmental Scientist from the Bay Area District of CA State Parks, joined Napa Open Space District staff for a virtual video hike through the park.
Click here to see the Wildfire Ecology virtual hike video.
Photo courtesy of Friends of Westwood Hills Park.
What Comes Next?
The Napa Open Space District has long been involved in fire mitigation efforts and continues to expand this segment of our work each year. Our natural open spaces can play an important role in mitigating the effects of wildfires by acting as firebreaks and helping provide areas of cooler fire thanks to proper maintenance and management of forests.
One piece of our fire-related work has to do with management of invasive species like French Broom. We have ongoing volunteer projects at Moore Creek Park as well as a partnership with Westwood Hills Park in the City of Napa to eradicate this invasive species and reduce fuel loads to help promote cooler fires in the event that they happen.
Want to Get Involved in Our Work?
If you would like to get involved in our work as a volunteer to help with projects like the invasive plant management projects mentioned above, click here and fill out our volunteer form.