Ron Noe takes a picture from the intersection of the main and west fork of Cold Spring Canyon trails. All vegetation is gone, along with the bench at the intersection. 
A view from Mountain Drive of the Cold Springs trailhead and road crossing. The crossing eroded 5 feet. 
A 75-foot section of the San Ysidro Trail, seen about a quarter-mile above the Edison jeepway. The hillside has washed away leaving a bedrock shelf that is only about 8 inches wide. It is 30 vertical feet down to the creek. The rock above the shelf may need to be cut away to create a new trail. 
The Cold Spring Ridge Trail shows typical trail conditions now, due to ravel and rock coming down on the trail. 
The washed-out bridge on the old Romero Road is about a half-mile from the Bella Vista Drive trailhead. 
The Saddle Rock “heart” near the top of the trail has burned rock added, so that it is now a “broken heart.” 
The mouth of Buena Vista Canyon shows the 20-foot dip is now completely filled in. The upper trail is washed out through the narrows and filled with debris.
The hike up Cold Spring Canyon has always been one of my favorites.
The deep canyon walls, lush riparian vegetation and stream flow that always seems to last longer than in other canyons makes Cold Spring a great place to visit any time of the year.
But as I drove up past Westmont College last Tuesday afternoon after covering the heart-breaking destruction in the lower areas, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
In the scheme of things, no one was worrying about what impact the flash flooding might have had on front country trails.
In 2005, 7 inches of heavy rain that hit the Cold Spring watershed one night in early January caused major damage in the canyon, with the flow high enough to cover the Mountain Drive crossing to a depth of 5 feet.
Sections of the trail were washed out, mudslides covered other parts, and downed trees and boulders blocked a number of the side drainages coming down into the canyon.
My first thought then was the bench at the West Fork intersection. It turned out to be OK, though the high-water mark had left debris at its base. The damage was huge but manageable.
Thanks to support from the Montecito Trails Foundation and a Forest Service grant, the trails were repaired and back in serviceable condition within a few months.
But last week, as I turned a final corner to the point where I could get a view of the Cold Spring trailhead area, I was blown away.
This was not 2005-flood-type damage.
From edge to edge, the canyon had been ripped apart, the vegetation gone — trees, brush, everything — to a point at least 30 feet above the bottom of the creek for as far up canyon as I could see. Everything down to bedrock.
Given the depth of the mud, I decided to hold off to the next day to explore further up the Cold Spring area, and over the next few days have had the opportunity to do quick surveys on a
number of the other trails within the Thomas Fire burn area.
From what I’ve seen, it is clear that the early morning storm has severely impacted every one of the Thomas Fire burn area trails. Some may have been damaged to the point that they will be changed forever.
If not forever, then to the point that they may not be recognizable for many, many years.
Without exception, all of the canyons have lost almost all of their vegetation 20-30 feet up the walls on either side. The creek bottoms have been scoured out and increasing their depths, ranging from a few feet to as much as 10-15 feet.
The creek crossings also have been seriously impacted along with spots where the trails cross small side drainages.
Most of the trails also have downed trees blocking parts of them and are covered with ravel and rock that make walking along them treacherous. Plan on them being closed for months more than earlier predicted, if not longer.
Cold Spring Canyon
The Mountain Drive crossing has been washed out to a depth of about five feet, making it impassable. The main trailhead is also blown out, including the steps, making it impossible to use the main trailhead access point.
At some point, the trailhead may need to be re-routed to the west side of the creek.
At the West Fork intersection, the area is completely blown out, with the area scoured to a depth of perhaps 15 feet and 100-150 yards wide. The bench is gone.
The main trail up has lots of damage, with all of the upper canyon through the creek crossings totally washed out. The trail up to the power lines is filled with rock and debris that is unsafe to
walk.
The ridge trail loop is totally impassable along its upper half, and the damage is serious enough that it may not be able to be repaired.
Hot Springs Canyon
The creek itself is completely washed out, with major damage along the entry route up to the crossing leading to the McMenemy Trail.
The McMenemy Trail is covered with scree material and rock with serious gullying in places. The trail will need extensive work to be opened again but can be repaired.
The Saddle Rock Trail has lost all of its soil, leaving it almost solid bedrock.
San Ysidro Canyon
The Edison jeepway leading up to the canyon trail has received serious damage, with rock litter and boulders covering large parts of the road. At the point where the single-track trail begins,
the road crossing to the west is totally washed away and is 8-10 feet deeper than before.
The upper canyon is completely blown out with vegetation and trees washed downstream as high as 50 feet above the creek bottom.
In a number of areas, the mud crested the bank and washed over the trail, leaving huge amounts of debris blocking it. Further upstream, sections of the hillside have been washed away, taking the soil that the trail went across and leaving bedrock where the trail one was.
The damage most likely continues further upstream but the washouts made it impossible to go further up.
Romero Canyon
The Edison jeepway is littered with rock debris and huge boulders. The bridge a half mile up the canyon has been washed away and the canyon trail is in poor condition.
There are numerous places where the edge of the trail is along 12-20 foot dropoffs. About a half mile up the canyon, at the point where the trail crosses from the east side of the canyon to the west, the hillside has washed out.
Where a switchback once led down to the crossing most of the trail has slid away, leaving a 40-foot dropoff.
Author's Note: Join Ray for a slideshow and talk on the impact the Thomas Fire and subsequent floods have had on the front country trails this Thursday night at the Santa
Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery at 6:30 p.m.
— Noozhawk outdoor writer Ray Ford can be reached at rford@noozhawk.com. Click here for his website, SBoutdoors.com. Follow him on Twitter: @riveray. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.