LOWER MT. WILSON TRAIL, SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS
BEFORE AND AFTER THE FIRE OF APRIL, 2008

Photographs by Michael Charters


It was only by sheer luck that I had hiked the Mt. Wilson Trail a number of times before the Sierra Madre Fire swept across it and made the landscape almost unrecognizable. It was also extremely fortuitous that on the hike I took immediately before the fire, for some reason that I can't explain, I decided to photograph the trail extensively, something I had never done before, so that later when the trail was reopened I was able to print out photos and take new pictures from as close to the same spots as I could. It was quite difficult because the terrain was charred and blackened. The fire consumed some 584 acres, 238 of which were in the Angeles National Forest, and 346 were within the corporate boundaries of Sierra Madre. 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze and approximately 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes. The firefighters did incredible work to stop the advance of the fire just above the perimeters of the nearest houses. The famous Sierra Madre trail race, observing its 100th anniversary, was postponed until June when the trail was reopened.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



A few other postfire scenes...


   

 



And signs of continuing life......


 
 
Chaparral yucca
Hesperoyucca whipplei
Liliaceae
[Named for Amiel Weeks Whipple, 1817-1863]
 
 
Common eucrypta
Eucrypta chrysanthemifolia var. chrysanthemifolia
Hydrophyllaceae
Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Rosaceae
 
   
Farewell-to-spring
Clarkia bottae
Onagraceae
[Named for William Clark, 1770-1838, and Paulo Emilio Botta, 1802-1870]
Globe gilia
Gilia capitata ssp. abrotanifolia
Polemoniaceae
[Named for Filippo Luigi Gilii, 1756-1821]


 
Golden yarrow
Eriophyllum confertiflorum var. confertiflorum
Asteraceae
  
Heartleaf penstemon
Keckiella cordifolia
Scrophulariaceae
[Named for David Daniels Keck, 1903-1995]
 


 
 
Canterbury bells
Phacelia minor
Hydrophyllaceae
 
 
 
 
Yellow pincushion
Chaenactis glabriuscula var. glabriuscula
Asteraceae
Canyon sweet pea
Lathyrus vestitus
Fabaceae
 
 


 
 
Variable checkerspot
Euphydryas chalcedona
 
 
Indian pink
Silene laciniata ssp. major
Caryophyllaceae
Chia
Salvia columbariae
Lamiaceae
   
Lanceleaf dudleya
Dudleya lanceolata
Crassulaceae
[Named for William Russel Dudley, 1849-1911]
Prickly cryptantha
Cryptantha muricata
Boraginaceae
 


Short-leaved cliff aster
Malacothrix saxatilis var. tenuifolia
Asteraceae


   
California buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Polygonaceae
 
Bush monkeyflower
Mimulus aurantiacus
Scrophulariaceae
 
Caterpillar phacelia
Phacelia cicutaria
Hydrophyllaceae


 
Narrow-leaved bedstraw
Galium angustifolium
Rubiaceae
 
Plummer's mariposa lily
Calochortus plummerae
Liliaceae
[Named for Sara Allen Plummer Lemmon, 1836-1923]
 


The next couple of years should be good ones. Stay tuned.

Copyright © 2008 by Michael L. Charters.
The photographs contained on these web pages may not be reproduced without the express consent of the author.
Comments and/or questions may be addressed to: mmlcharters[at]gmail.com.