Rehabilitation Begins at Palm Canyon Trail After Rosa Fire Damage

Just two weeks after the Rosa Fire scorched more than 1600 acres, crews are beginning the long process of rehabilitating the damaged land. On Wednesday, the Friends of the Desert Mountains, working with the U.S. Forest Service, focused their recovery efforts on the Palm Canyon Trailhead.

The fire, which burned 422 acres of conserved land earlier this month, affected two critical parcels of land near the trail. "When the fire took place, they had to create a road outside of the trail, and so they had to bring that road back in. A lot of dirt, a lot of rocks, everything like that was brought back in." Tammy Martin, the Executive Director for the Friends of the Desert Mountains explained.

The non-profit organization owns the upper part of the Palm Canyon Trailhead, a section of land preserved in the early 2000s. Leaders with the nonprofit say returning the area to a safe condition will take time and resources.

The group estimates that full rehabilitation could take up to a year, with erosion being their biggest concern—especially if heavy rains arrive in the San Bernardino National Forest. “We don’t know what type of holes it’s going to create. You just don’t know what those valleys are going to do with the rain,” Martin said.

For now, the organization is asking hikers to respect the closure of the Upper Palm Canyon Trail so crews can safely restore it. Future recovery efforts will also include Belvedere Road and Wilderswil Drive, just north of Highway 74.