Community Update
Friends of Sonoma County Regional Parks,

It is an understatement to say this has been a rough couple of weeks, months, and year. With our community recovering from yet another catastrophic wildfire, under the shadow of a global pandemic, our thoughts go out to everyone affected. 

As firefighters work toward total containment of the Glass Fire, we want to update you on the impact to Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve in the Sonoma Valley.

When the Glass Fire swept over the Mayacamas Mountains, it moved across the northern half of the park as well as the southern section that burned in the Nuns Fire three years ago. We are preparing to survey the park once it’s safe to do so, but we know nearly all 2,000 acres burned to some degree.

Some areas, such as the ridgetop Sargent's cypress forest and the Los Alamos Road trailheads, burned at a higher intensity than others. Some locations, such as the new Lawson Trail, were left largely intact.

In the coming days, we’ll fully assess the park, develop plans to remove hazardous trees and debris and work with partners to protect watersheds and limit the potential for erosion.
These photos show the damage at the Los Alamos Road parking lot (above) and at the top of the Lawson Trail on the Pythian Road side of the park (below).
The photo below, taken near the Lawson Trail, shows there are still islands of greenery amid the fire damage.
Our natural landscapes will restore themselves in time, as we have seen at Hood Mountain, Foothill, Shiloh Ranch and the other Regional Parks that have burned in four wildfires over the past three years. Seeds will sprout, wildlife will return. It is the built infrastructure – culverts, fences, signs – that will need repair.
As always, visitor safety is our priority, and we ask for your patience as we keep the park closed for this work. Our goal is to reopen in phases as soon as conditions allow, but we expect the park to be closed through the fall season. 

Recovering from wildfire is a process that has become all too familiar since the Tubbs and Nuns fires. We are adapting and finding opportunities to evolve our stewardship and design practices to support more diverse and resilient landscapes.

Still, by now we are all undoubtedly feeling disaster fatigue in some way. We offer a gentle reminder that nature heals, and we encourage you to find respite in your parks.
 
Be well,
 
Bert Whitaker
Director, Sonoma County Regional Parks  

 
Sonoma County Regional Parks
(707) 565-2041