SOME TO SEE CLOSED PARK LIFE REAPPEARS IN BURNED TOWSLEY CANYON.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

NEWHALL - A peek at newly sprouted wildlife in fire-ravaged Towsley Canyon will be featured Saturday during hourlong guided hikes in the park.

Docents will lead the special tours at 11 a.m. and at 1 and 3 p.m., offering the public a close look at some of the burned areas and nature's remarkable response in the park otherwise closed to the public.

Numbers for the special tour will be limited, and reservations are required. The hikers will be met at the park's main gate at The Old Road.

Reservations for the free tour may be made by calling Jeanne Ledbetter at [phone].

``We're going to take about 20 people at a time and walk them through the canyon to satisfy their curiosity,'' said Ledbetter, coordinator of volunteers for the park. ``These tours are mostly in response to the people stopping by the gate asking when the park is going to be open. Some of them have been hiking the canyon so long. We want them to see what beautiful things are going to happen now.''

Ledbetter said that sometimes the canyon benefits from burning, and the hikes will illustrate how an ecological community lives with fire. Naturalists say that burning chaparral releases nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, into the soil, and fire can kill off harmful insects as well as plants not native to the region, which allows fire-resistant plants to thrive. Charate - the charred material from burned plants - provides a chemical essential for dormant seeds to germinate and can help warm the ground for germination.

Ledbetter noted that new plants already are starting to come up through the blackened surface, and new green growth is appearing on many trees and plants that survived.

``The dicot grasses are coming through on the trail,'' she said about the two-leaf blades of grass. ``That's something people have never seen before, because the thistle and other big brush used to choke it out. Our staff has seen green on the yucca plants, which means the roots were not burned, and there are green leaves on the oaks, which is wonderful, wonderful stuff.''

Ledbetter said that there have been small flare-ups of smoke, reminders of the inferno that swept through the area in late October.

``Some roots are still smoldering and burning,'' she said. ``It was happening just under the trees at the front gate. We're always watching, even though the real strong burning is pretty much done. What we're seeing are roots that are hot, and the rains washed away dirt covering them.''

She stopped midsentence to marvel at the park's red-shouldered hawk that was preening just outside her window.

``Hi, Baby. What is it you're looking for?'' she cooed. She laughed. ``He always knows when I don't have my camera.''

In addition to the hawk, rangers have spotted two American kestrels and 24 other species of birds, as well as bobcats, fox, deer, rabbits and kangaroo rats.

``We lost a lot; we found a lot of burned animals. It was a very, very hot fire,'' she said. ``It burned both sides of the nature center, and it was hard for the animals to find a place to go.''

She said that part of the reason that the park remains closed is to allow animals to re-establish their habitats.

``Their whole food web was disrupted,'' she explained. ``The brush where they used to find cover is gone, and the brush where their predators would hide is gone. We need to give them time and room to come back and find their food, establish their cover, dig their dens. Those are all big factors in the ecosystem of the canyon.''

She emphasized that the park is still closed to the public and deplored any walk-in traffic from people sneaking through the barriers on The Old Road.

``We're trying to give the animals a little more time, and it's really not safe yet. There are power lines and telephone poles that are down and need to be cleaned up. We also have a problem with people staying on the trail. They come into the park and stomp on the new growth. We have to protect the wildlife.''

Park officials urged people to satisfy their curiosity by making reservations for the hikes Saturday, when they will be guided away from danger or damage to wildlife.

``Even though fire seems devastating, in a way it is pretty,'' Ledbetter said. ``Life goes on. Plants resprout. It's amazing what nature recovers from. It's going to be a beautiful spring.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Wild grasses rise from the charred surface in Towsley Canyon.

(2 -- 3; 3 ran in SAC edition only) Demonstrating nature's amazing power of recovery, plants are sprouting in Towsley Canyon just weeks after it was blackened by wildfires. Park workers forecast a beautiful spring.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer