CALIFORNIA — When a wildfire erupted the afternoon of July 5, near Zaca Lake on Los Padres National Forest, one of the best vantage points for the initial attack was atop the Zaca Ridge Road. As firefighters from multiple agencies converged on scene, access to this forest road allowed first responders to direct retardant drops and to get “eyes on the fire.”

“This road provided the best look at what the fire was doing early on,” according to Los Padres Assistant Fire Management Officer Robert Chavez. “This enabled us to direct resources and initiate our response with a clear view of what the fire was doing.”

Had a wildfire broke out in this area last year, this road would not have been accessible to first responders. The 2023-24 winter storms damaged, to varying degrees, hundreds of miles of forest roads that wind through the Los Padres backcountry. Some of these roads suffered minimal impacts while others were pulverized and rendered impassable. What these roads have in common is that they all provide critical access for suppression resources during wildfire emergencies.

“We were very concerned about response times based on the amount of roads that needed work following the storms,” said Santa Lucia Division Chief Pete Stephenson. “It was likely that response times would be far greater if we had to use alternate routes to get to the fire.”

The job of repairing much of the road damage fell to the Los Padres National Forest’s Santa Lucia Ranger District ‘s Dozer 3 crew who spent the better part of 16 months reopening hundreds of miles of roads. This four-person crew – Robert Taylor, Sean Kenney, Mike Fuerch and Lorenzo Castillo – was relentless in their approach, working on roads impacted with both minor and major damage.

“The roads were in bad shape from the storms so once everything dried out, we went to work,” said Fuerch. “We basically worked nonstop for months” repairing potholes, craters, slides and road slips.

The Dozer 3 crew’s efforts to restore access on dozens of essential forest roads enabled the public to reach popular recreation sites, trailheads and off-highway vehicle areas. Their work included Figueroa Mountain Road, Happy Canyon Road, Piney Loop Road, Pine Canyon Road and Sierra Madre Road, among others.

The crew’s work across the forest likely saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside contracting costs. However, more importantly, the repairs to the Zaca Ridge Road quite possibly helped to prevent a repeat of the Zaca Fire that started in this same area in 2007 and burned 240,000 acres. Thanks to Dozer 3 crew’s efforts, the Lake Fire was held to less than 39,000 acres.

“Investment into our critical infrastructure not only helps with safe firefighter access but allows for resource protection by minimizing the impacts of wildfires on the beneficial uses our National Forests and Grasslands provide,” Chavez said.