On Wednesday, September 23, 2020, Wildcat Campground reopened for camping.Campers with reservations for Tomales Bay Boat-in Camping permits were allowed to resume camping. On Thursday, September 10, 2020, most of the park was reopened, except for Limantour Road and the areas and trails south of Limantour Road, west of Highway 1, and north of the Stewart Trail.Since then, roads, trails, facilities, and areas have been reopened when it was safe to do so. On Friday, August 21, 2020, Point Reyes National Seashore was closed to all public use due to the Woodward Fire. Updates about the Woodward Fire were posted on Point Reyes National Seashore's Facebook and Twitter pages, InciWeb's Woodward Fire Information page, and on the Marin County Fire Department's Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, as well as on this page.Ĭheck out the Woodward Fire Photo Gallery further down this page. Thank you for your continued patience during this extraordinary time! While it might not look dangerous, if you were to go into a closed area, and something were to happen to you and you required assistance, everyone entering the area to assist you might be put in harm's way. Safety reminder: Park visitors and area residents are asked to be mindful of closure signs anywhere in the park. We thank visitors for their patience as we worked to improve the trails within the Woodward Fire zone. Natural wetting and drying out of the soil give us the compaction we need for long-term durability, but the soils needed to remain undisturbed after park staff finish their work so that natural compaction process could happen. Any foot, bicycle, or equestrian traffic during the time shortly after repairs are made damages-or can even destroy-these newly rebuilt drainage structures. These repairs leave fresh disturbed soils on the trails with minimal compaction. Park staff worked to repair trails and fix drainage structures on the trails within the burn area. Second, trails needed to be completely cleared of debris and rehabilitated. These are trees that have been burned and pose a falling threat to hikers. First, the area needed to be thoroughly assessed for hazard trees. There were several reasons why this area has remained closed. These areas occasionally produced light smoke, but posed no threat to the containment lines.Įven after the fire was declared out, the park continued to keep some areas and trails that are within the fire footprint closed to visitation. The fuels that continued to burn were large tree trunks, stump holes, and other areas with smoldering fuels that are very difficult to access. This type of burn is in contrast with some of our larger, hotter fires that consume everything in its path.Įven though the fire was 100% contained by October 1, 2020, fuels in the interior area of the fire continued to burn until January 12, 2021. That means it burned with high intensity in some places, and other places it burned lightly. The Woodward Fire was declared out on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.Įcologists consider the Woodward Fire to be ecologically beneficial because it had a mix of burn severity. By Thursday, October 1, 2020, the Woodward Fire was 100% contained at 4,929 acres in size. On Tuesday, August 18, a second fire, initially named the 4-6 Fire and later renamed the Woodward Fire, was found nearby and, aided by gusty winds, quickly grew in size. Pictured: the McKinney Fire which started in the Klamath National Forest in July of 2022 and caused four fatalities.On Monday, August 17, 2020, lightning started a wildfire, which was named the 4-5 Fire, north of the junction of Woodward Valley Trail and the Coast Trail. This year serves as a testament to the effectiveness of strategic planning and collaborative efforts in wildfire management. Additionally, the widespread adoption of preventive measures, such as controlled burns and vegetation management, contributed to the overall reduction in fire severity and scale. The efforts of CAL FIRE, coupled with improved resource management and community preparedness, played a key role in mitigating the impact of wildfires throughout the state. Notable fires included the Emerald Fire in Mendocino County, which despite its rapid spread, was contained effectively without major structural damages or casualties. The total acreage burned was remarkably lower, with approximately 250,000 acres affected, significantly less than the 5-year average of over 2,300,000 acres. The 2023 fire season in California, marked by proactive management and favorable weather conditions, saw a substantial decrease in both the number of wildfires and the total acreage burned, compared to the 5-year average.
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