California Native Plants in Fire
I live close to the Hahamongna Watershed Park and frequently run in the area. Shortly after the Eaton Canyon Fire I went for a run in this park that is only a few miles west of where the fire devastated parts of Altadena. It is host to many types of native plant life, much of which is fire resistant or resilient. I decided to do some research on both the Park as well as the plants that may have survived the fire event.
Panorama of Hahamongna Watershed Park with JPL in the background.
Hahamongna Watershed Park is located near the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and borders the cities of La Canada Flintridge, Altadena, and Northwest Pasadena. It is a 1300-acre park in the Arroyo Seco that extends from Devil's Gate Dam north into the San Gabriel Mountain established in 1993 by the City of Pasadena. The park contains the archeological site of the Hahamog-na Tongva village, and includes a habitat and plant community blend of freshwater marsh wetlands, riparian zones, native oak woodlands, and chaparral elfin forests.
It is also home to the Hahamongna Native Plant Nursery that is entirely volunteer run and propagates native California plants from cuttings and seed which are then available for purchase by the public. This Nursery was not untouched by the wind storm and ash run off from the resulting Eaton Canyon Fire. The Arroyo Seco Foundation that operates the Nursery has photos and stories from this historic event on their Instragram page.
According to the Arroyo Seco Foundation, one of the contributing factors of wildfires is non-native invasive plants in natural habitat areas. Other local organizations and government departments are also encouraging letting native plants and trees re-emerge before planting over them or cutting down those that have been singed. Although native shrubs like toyon, lemonade berry, and manzanita may have burned to stumps, they evolved in fire habitats and their roots are likely still alive to bring back the plants.
A variety of hardy shrubs and other plants populate the Hahamongna basin.
The resilience of these California native plants in the face of extreme fire and wind conditions is further evidence of why Vera's mission to promote native plant life is essential to our communities.
Sources: https://www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/parks/hahamongna-watershed-park/
