Santa Barbara County officials evaluating the aftermath of the Rey Fire, which burned 33,606 acres in Los Padres National Forest, say the impact on watersheds is much smaller compared to past burns in the forest.
A priority for crews during the Rey Fire was minimizing impacts on the Santa Ynez watershed, including Gibraltar Reservoir and Lake Cachuma, which provides the South Coast with about 80 percent of its water.
Lake Cachuma is a key water contributor for the South Coast, the Santa Ynez and Lompoc valleys, and areas all the way to the ocean, said Deputy Public Works Director Tom Fayram.
“I believe (crews) worked hard to contain the fire to as small of a footprint as possible,” Fayram said.
Post-wildfire environments can result in increased sedimentation in Gibraltar and Cachuma reservoirs, Fayram said.
Rainfall intensity and frequency will be important factors, and the fire’s impact will manifest with winter storms, he said.
“The fire in the watershed is a two-edged sword,” Fayram said. “Certainly impacts to the reservoirs on the Santa Ynez are very concerning.”
The U.S. Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has assembled to begin work in impacted areas, spokesman Andrew Madsen said.
BAER addresses the damage after the fire is out, including effects on water quality.
Crews have completed approximately 99 percent of fire-suppression repair.
The repair cost is relatively low, according to Madsen.
Comparatively, the Zaca Fire in 2007 and the Piru Fire in 2003 left significant impacts on the landscape.
Water quality issues resulted from areas burned during the 240,000-acre Zaca Fire, which devastated landscapes, watersheds and ecosystems in the Los Padres National Forest and the San Rafael Wilderness.
Fayram said the Rey Fire had a “much smaller scale” impact compared to the Zaca.
In 2015, the Los Padres National Forest partnered with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which awarded $11 million in grants to restore the watersheds and ecosystems affected by the Zaca and Piru Fires.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
