Fire Damaged Trails Get a Makeover
Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 | Updated 9:31 AM PST
Volunteers picked up picks and shovels to begin a massive restoration project on popular hiking trails in the Angeles National Forest that were damaged by last year's Station Fire, it was reported Sunday.
Volunteers put skills to use on a damaged section of the Altadena Crest Trail in Eaton Canyon on Saturday, the Pasadena Star-News reported. Andrew Fish of the U.S. Forest Service led a team that will be spending most of April assessing the state of the trails now that rainy season -- and the risk of mudslides -- are easing.
Last year's Station Fire destroyed a quarter of the Angeles National Forest -- a blow to the nature lovers in a region that doesn't have a lot of green, the newspaper reported. The Forest Service estimated that $26 million of the forest's infrastructure and natural resources were destroyed in the Station Fire.
When the forest opens up, Fish will be overseeing the restorations of trails inside the forest, which will heavily rely on volunteers and partnerships with nonprofit groups.
"I swear to God there will be enough Girl Scout, Boy Scout, Eagle Scout and Sierra Club projects to last generations," Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron told a Sierra Club meeting in January.
Volunteers interested in helping out in restoring the forest can fill out an application on the Forest Service Web site, Fish told the newspaper. The Forest Service will help put them in touch with groups that can use their help.
