In the last six years since the CZU Lightning Complex fire humbled the giant redwoods of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the park has slowly crawled back to life. Astride the blackened, hollowed carcasses of fallen trees, some trails have reopened, and there are plans t o replace some of the infrastructure erected over the last century which the fire reduced to cinders. But a new effort is underway to restore some of the once-popular trails deeper in the forest which remain closed to the public. Every day, a crew of state park employees and the California Conservation Corps trek a mile and a half down meandering trails, past downed trees, often hauling lumber, tools, and fiberglass planks to rebuild the paths and the 22 pedestrian bridges that burned. The group has cleared massive logs and hazardous trees and erected retaining walls to shore up trails that were washed away. “We’re blazing about four to five miles of trail to create a loop from Skyline-to-the-Sea, Timms Creek and Sunset Trail,” said Eamon Reynolds of California State Parks. Timms Creek trail bears all the telltale signs of the recent disaster: fallen logs, landslides and gaps where bridges stood. The crews have had to cut away the overgrown vegetation and recut the paths through the thick forest. They’re rebuilding bridges using fiberglass in place of the original wood. “They’re all made of fiberglass,” said Reynolds. “And they are for many reasons fire resistant as well as they don’t rot.” A crew from California Conservation Corps works to restore Timms Creek trail in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which burned in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire. Before the fire, the 4.5-mile Timms Creek loop was a popular trail, connecting to other trails in the system and ultimately the Pacific Ocean below. Reynolds said when the project wrap ups, he expects it will become popular again. “One of my dreams is just getting this section of trail open again,” Reynolds said. “It will be really good to see all those people come down here like they once did before the fire.” The work is an opportunity for the youth-driven California Conservation Corps to cut their teeth as well. The workforce training program gives young people a chance to gain trade experience for future careers. CCC member Coltrane Mueller has spent months alongside his fellow crew members sawing fallen trees and shaping trails. “Legacy feels like a strong word,” Mueller said. “But to leave a legacy, and if I ever have kids, I could bring them here and be like, ‘I built that.’” Sempervirens Fund, the group formed 126 years ago to protect the redwoods of Big Basin — California’s first state park — is fundraising $450,000 to help pay for the project. The vision is to make the park more resistant to future wildfires, which are expected to increase in frequency with the changing climate. A crew from California Conservation Corps works to restore Timms Creek trail in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which burned in the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire. “I think one of the important things about this project is we are building back these trails better than they were and in a way that’s going to be more resilient than the old way,” Sempervirens Executive Director Sara Barth said. The trail is expected to reopen in spring 2027, allowing visitors a backcountry trek that feels like a true escape. Barth said since its inception, Big Basin has been a catalyst for preservation – and in this case restoration. “Big Basin taught Californians what a state park could be,” Barth said. “I think today Big Basin is teaching us how we have a park exist in a land that burns regularly.” Bay Area Feb 19 Land trust expands Big Basin Redwoods State Park for first time in 15 Years Santa Cruz County Jan 13, 2022 Introducing Gateway to Big Basin: New Park Coming to Santa Cruz Mountains ...read more read less