Los Padres Partners with Chumash Indians on Educational Signs

Los Padres National Forest staff have completed the installation of educational signs at five recreation sites on the Santa Lucia Ranger District through a partnership with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians whose ancestral lands comprise much of National Forest Service land along California’s Central Coast.

The signs were designed in collaboration with the Chumash Tribal Council with assistance from Forest Service graphic design specialists to ensure the Tribe’s concerns were met and adhered to Agency publishing standards. Each sign centers on two themes – cultural education of traditional Chumash uses of plants and animals, fire management, and ancestral inhabitants of the Forest, and education on the endangered Southern California steelhead trout, impacts from wildfire and barriers to passage, bans on steelhead fishing, and how to protect this culturally significant species.

Santa Lucia District Ranger presents Roberto Silva with an award for his service

The Los Padres paid homage to employee Roberto Silva for his exceptional service and initiative over the years as a firefighter on the Santa Lucia and Monterey Ranger Districts. Currently the fire engine operator and relief captain for Pozo Engine 34, Silva has been diligently leading the district in firefighting, fuels management, and forestry.

Quick Actions Saved Lives on Los Padres’ Lake Fire

The Lake Fire broke out the afternoon of July 5 near Zaca Lake on the Santa Lucia Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest. A giant plume of smoke dominated the horizon and was visible from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara. Air tankers were soon on scene, criss-crossing the smoke-filled skies over the fast-moving blaze.

Forest Patrol 38 Cassy Buckley had just finished cabin inspections when she saw the smoke and reported the new fire start. Based on her location and after speaking with the IC, she decided it was best to canvass Zaca Ridge Road and flush out any visitors who were recreating in the area. “I notified the local campgrounds that we had a fire and that there was a pre-evacuation order for the area,” Buckley said.

Confident that all members of the public had left the area, she tied in with the Incident Command Post and was told to return to Figueroa Mountain and clear any campers from the Nira, Davy Brown and Figueroa campgrounds.

Fire Access Road Proves Pivotal in Suppressing Lake Fire on Los Padres NF

When a wildfire erupted the afternoon of July 5 near Zaca Lake on Los Padres National Forest’s Santa Lucia Ranger District in Santa Barbara County, one of the best vantage points for the initial attack was atop the Zaca Ridge Road. 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 due to storm damage in 2023-2024. The job of repairing much of the road damage fell to the Santa Lucia District’s Dozer 3 crew who spent the better part of 16 months reopening hundreds of miles of roads.

Los Padres Fire Captain Jack Reimers receives award for outstanding service

Captain Jack Reimers was recently awarded for his outstanding service, effective leadership and tireless efforts facilitating training opportunities for his fellow employees on the Los Padres National Forest.

A dedicated firefighter of twenty years, Jack has given his entire career thus far to the Los Padres NF. Jack started his career in 2004 on the Ojai Sundowners handcrew. He worked several seasons both on the Sundowners and on Engine 51 based out of Casitas Lake. In 2008, he became an apprentice and worked on Helicopter 528 in Santa Ynez later becoming fire engine operator on Engine 51. During this time he also worked a detail as Patrol 51 serving the Ojai Ranger District as a fire prevention officer. In 2018, he was promoted to Engine Captain on E-343 at Rincon Station, serving there on the Santa Barbara Ranger District for three seasons. In 2021, he returned to the District Office in Ojai as Engine Captain 352 where he is currently stationed.

Remembering Patrick Lieske - Forest Wildlife Biologist

Family, friends and colleagues were stunned and grief stricken upon learning that Los Padres Wildlife, Range, and Botany Program Manager Patrick Lieske suffered a fatal injury while mountain biking April 15. Patrick had gone out for one of his grueling rides Monday evening and was reported missing early the next morning. Search and rescue teams from Santa Barbara, Ventura and Kern Counties were instrumental in locating Patrick April 18 along the Santa Ynez River following a two-day search of the area.

Patrick’s colleagues remember him as a dedicated public servant who took great pride in his work.

He was upfront and forward and I believe this was his way of giving the wildlife of the forest a voice,"said Dr. Nicole Molinari, who worked with Patrick for many years. He took his duties and obligations as a wildlife biologist seriously and in so doing he’s created a legacy for the protection of animals on the Los Padres.” 

Los Padres' Communication Center's Michael Kendrick Wins R5 Golden Mic Award

The work performed day in and day out by employees assigned to the Los Padres’ Communication Center often flies under the radar despite the LPCC’s critical role in dispatching resources to everything from traffic collisions to missing persons, and smoke checks to emergency wildfire incidents. The seven-person staff navigates the fast-paced operations from their facility on the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc.

Each year Forest Service dispatchers compete for the Golden Mic award which recognizes the exemplary communication skills, efficiency and professionalism of a select few. Winners of the regional award then go head-to-head with their peers from across the country for the national Golden Mic.

This year, Dispatch Captain Michael Kendrick at the LPCC grabbed the PSW Golden Mic and will represent the Region in a showdown for the national award.

Congratulations Michael and good luck in the national competition!

In Memorium - Dave Skinner, Retired Forest Service Engine Captain

On Dec. 13th, 2023, Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Ynez Valley lost a true hero.

Retired Forest Service Engine Captain David Skinner passed away from cardiac arrest in his Buellton home with his wife Candy by his side. Skinner was 77 years old.

Serendipitously, the county fire engine that responded to the Skinner home that night was led by Captain Corey Stowe who 25 years earlier served as Captain Skinner's trusty engineer on Los Prietos Engine 42 on the Santa Barbara Ranger District. Skinner's family remembers Stowe fondly and how he was mentored by Skinner years ago, with the reckoning that if Skinner had to go, it was fitting his former friend and colleague was by his side, comforting his family in their time of need.

The family will be having a celebration of life at the end of April or beginning of May, before fire season. Contact Flemming Bertelsen for more information.

Following Extensive Repairs, Rockfront OHV Area Reopens to the Public

One of the more heavily impacted recreation sites from the severe 2023 winter storms was the Rockfront OHV area in the heart of the Santa Lucia Ranger District. Winding through 15,328 acres of challenging terrain, the area provides 41 miles of four-by-four trails that traverse rocky canyons up to ridgelines with spectacular vistas of the Cuyama Valley. Thousands of off-highway enthusiasts visit Rockfront each year, and many consider it one of the crown jewels of OHV recreation on the Central Coast.

After the roads were cleared for work, Santa Lucia’s Dozer 3 crew made its first foray into Rockfront in September 2023 to begin working on the main access road. The dozer’s four-person crew consisted of Mike Fuerch, Sean Kenney, Lorenzo Castillo and Robert Taylor.

Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project

Many public resources and cultural values take place at Rose Valley Creek. Stream and habitat restoration is being proposed for Southern California steelhead and other federally protected wildlife. Along with stream restoration, floodplain function, water-holding properties, riparian vegetation, are expected to increase. Read more...

May 24, 2022 Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project Scoping Meeting

May 13, 2021 Rose Valley Creek Restoration Project Public Workshop Video Recording

Restoring Los Padres’ Native Steelhead Trout Habitat

The anadromous Southern California steelhead (SCS) trout distinct population segment indigenous to Southern California received Endangered Species status in 1997 due to declining numbers. Over the last two decades, the situation for these trout native to Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) has continued to deteriorate, and the species now have one of the highest levels of federal protection. 

Stream conditions and steelhead critical habitat were further degraded by the massive Zaca Fire in 2007 that denuded landscapes above traditional steelhead spawning waters and contributed to greater sediment deposition downstream. As SCS stocks have declined substantially from their historic numbers across the LPNF and other part of Southern California, many are now facing extinction.

Protecting Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak

On May 8, 2020, Los Padres National Forest introduced a plan to protect areas of Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak that are at risk due to overstocking and the devastating impacts from disease and insect infestation. The Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project lays within a federally designated Insect and Disease Treatment Area where declining forest health conditions have put the area at risk for substantial tree mortality over the next 15 years. The primary goal of this project is reduce tree densities to promote forest resilience to drought, insect and disease, and wildfire. To achieve this goal, professional Forest managers will selectively thin specific areas to enhance forest health across 755 acres on Pine Mountain between California Highway 33 and Reyes Peak in Ventura County.

Mount Pinos Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project

On April 7, 2021, Los Padres National Forest announced a plan to protect areas of the Mount Pinos Ranger District that are at risk to overstocking and the devastating impacts from disease and insect infestation. This forest health project was initially shared with the public in late 2019 during an open house and field visit to the project area. In 2006 public collaboration began when the project was listed in the Mount Pinos Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

The Mount Pinos Forest Health Project is located within a federally designated Insect and Disease Treatment Area where declining forest health conditions put the area at risk for substantial tree mortality over the next 15 years. In the 2014 Farm Bill, Congress authorized the U.S. Forest Service to prioritize work in these designated areas, and to expeditiously plan and implement projects to address the risk posed by insect and disease outbreaks.

Thomas Fire Burn Area Emergency Response Team (BAER) Report 

The US Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team’s purpose is to assess threats to life, property, and cultural and natural resources from fire-induced changes to the watershed that can cause erosion, sedimentation, flooding, and debris flows. The BAER team has completed their reports which provide a synopsis of BAER findings and the Forest Service’s internal request for implementation funding to treat values at risk on Forest Service lands only. The information generated by the BAER team is crucial for further analysis by other agencies affected by the fire to examine off-Forest values at risk within their jurisdiction.

•  Learn more about the Thomas Fire BAER Team Reports