Doing the work to reopen the PCT in the Powerhouse Fire burn

By Connor Swift, PCTA technical advisor

Wildfire in California is like rain in the Northwest: inevitable. While suppressing wildfire in California continues to be a high priority, the damage cannot always be mitigated or controlled, and unfortunately, the Pacific Crest Trail is oftentimes dramatically affected. In some cases, the PCT burns but suffers relatively little. In others, wildfire demolishes the trail, wiping it from the land.

The Powerhouse Fire occurred in early summer 2013 in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, this was not a naturally occurring fire. Tripped powerlines sparked the fire and it burned more than 30,000 acres before it was contained. According to the Los Angeles Times, 58 structures burned and three communities evacuated during the two-week disaster. Seven miles of the PCT were severely burned.

An enormous rainstorm in October 2015 served the final blow to the trail. Water, of course, is a trail’s worst enemy. When you combine monsoon-caliber rain with freshly burned land devoid of soil-stabilizing plants and lacking natural filtration systems, the effects are devastating. The hillsides in the burn area, which were barren and consisted of loose, fragile soils, could not withstand the deluge. Typical runoff turned into mudslides and chaos. Tons of earth shifted, miles of trail were buried or blown out. The devastation on the PCT was large scale and required a large-scale strategy to repair.

The PCT in the burn area prior to reconstruction. Photo by Conner Swift

The PCT in the burn area prior to reconstruction. Photo by Conner Swift

Efforts to repair the PCT began in early 2016, though the planning started shortly after the 2013 fire. The rainstorm delayed and complicated planned restoration efforts. The trail was so severely damaged that in order to keep the reconstruction from turning into a decade-long project, federal land managers pursued unconventional solutions to bring the trail back to standard. So, what do I mean by unconventional? In years past, the PCT was constructed and maintained almost entirely by hand-crews with traditional skills and tools. This work requires long hours to haul tools and equipment to remote locations and hiking many miles to and from the worksite. This is the preferred method to construct and maintain the PCT because the final product is more aesthetically appealing to hikers and horseback riders and the overall character and experience of the PCT is better protected. This approach to trail maintenance will always be our first choice, but sometimes overwhelming circumstances force the need to explore drastic alternatives.

Those tasked with rebuilding the PCT after the Powerhouse Fire decided upon an unconventional approach: simultaneously utilizing both hand-crews and a trail-building machine. The intent was that the trail machine would do a “rough cut”, removing multiple feet of dirt covering the trail and reestablishing the bench (the actual footpath) along the hillsides, while the hand-crews followed behind the machine, assisting the operator and machine, and performing clean-up and final touches. In an area like the Powerhouse Fire, where the soils are heavily damaged and prone to erosion, it’s crucial to drain water off the trail by building out-sloped tread and drainage structures. Out-sloped tread, tread sloped by a few degrees to the downhill side, in combination with drainage structures, like water bars and drainage dips, shed water off the trail and maintain the natural drainage of the mountain.  Using this combination of tread engineering and drainage structures ensures that the next rains don’t devastate the trail. This fine-tuned work can only be done by hand crews as it’s impossible for a heavy machine. The question here was whether to complete all the trail work by hand, which could have taken several years, or have the machine complete the rough work and then immediately have hand crews come back to polish the details. Everyone understood that if these two steps weren’t completed in conjunction, the work done by the machine would hold water on the trail and cause considerable erosion. Extensive planning and coordinating was needed to ensure the machine and the hand-crews were operating in unison, completing sections of trail at roughly the same pace.

Sweco Trail Machine at work. These are rarely used on the PCT. Photo by Conner Swift

Sweco Trail Machine at work. These are rarely used on the PCT. Photo by Conner Swift

Volunteers perform final touches after the trail machine cuts through the hillside. Photo by Niki Forgues

Volunteers perform final touches after the trail machine cuts through the hillside. Photo by Niki Forgues

Last spring, as the machine progressed down the trail, the first hand-crews followed, outsloping the tread, removing the berm (a mound of soil that develops on the outside of the trail tread), and adding the necessary drainage. The work went smoothly, with an amazing amount of the hand-crew work completed by the local PCTA Trail Gorillas and volunteer section chief Jim Richter.

Trail Gorillas finish up work in November 2016. Photo by Allaire Koslo

Trail Gorillas finish up work in November 2016. Photo by Allaire Koslo

In early November, the trail machine completed the last portion of the PCT within the burn area. It was a slow process, but after months of dedication and hard work, the trail has really taken shape.  There is still a fair amount of work to be done on the Powerhouse Fire section, but it’s our hope that within a short amount of time the PCT will once again be ready for public use. Volunteers were crucial to this project. Thank you to everyone who dedicated time and energy to restoring the PCT after the Powerhouse Fire.

Reconstructing the trail after the Powerhouse Fire was a unique opportunity for the Angeles National Forest and the PCTA’s volunteers to come together and tackle a very large project that, in some aspects, was atypical of PCT maintenance work. This was also an opportunity for the U.S. Forest Service to study a seldom-used technique — using the trail machine followed by a hand crew — to determine if this type of approach to trail reconstruction is a realistic and viable. The best indicator of that will be time and consistent monitoring of trail conditions and weather and user impacts. There are other assessments that could be used to determine the efficiency of the trail machine and hand-crews, but the real test will be how it holds up to Mother Nature.

Corp crew and volunteers building a rock retaining wall. Photo by Connor Swift

Corp crew and volunteers building a rock retaining wall. Photo by Connor Swift

The rock retaining wall completed by the ACE corp crew. This photo really shows how we bury and hide much of our work. The trail should mostly pass by un-noticed while so that you can focus on the natural wonders around you. Photo by Connor Swift

The rock retaining wall completed by the ACE corp crew. This photo really shows how we bury and hide much of our work. The trail should mostly pass by un-noticed while so that you can focus on the natural wonders around you. Photo by Connor Swift

It’s always an accomplishment to have a significant role in the reconstruction of the PCT after it has experienced such heavy damage. Unfortunately, wildfires, both natural and human caused, are here to stay. Many of the current PCT maintenance projects in Southern California are within burn areas. Just last summer, the Sand, Pilot, and Blue-Cut fires caused significant damage to the PCT, adding to our workload. So, come join us and volunteer to maintain and protect your beloved PCT! We need your energy and your good hands.

This work was made possible through the generous financial support of the U.S. Forest Service and REI. You can support projects like this by making a donation to the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
Thanks to all who volunteered! Live in Southern California? We need more volunteers. Sign up! Photo by Niki Forgues

Thanks to all who volunteered! Live in Southern California? We need more volunteers. Sign up! Photo by Niki Forgues

Author: PCTA Staff

The mission of the Pacific Crest Trail Association is to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail as a world-class experience for hikers and equestrians, and for all the values provided by wild and scenic lands.