A Lesson in Nature’s Restoration

The fire at UCSB’s Coal Oil Point Reserve may have charred more than 20 acres of the landscape, but it also opened up a rare opportunity for the scientists who work there Cristina Sandoval picks her way through the blackened remains of brush and scrub at UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil Point Reserve, where a fire recently consumed an estimated 20 or so acres. It began near midnight on June 26, and within an hour or so — driven by 25 mph winds blowing west to east — it had traveled along the boundary of dense brush and the sand dunes on the reserve’s southern side, devouring the drought-ridden plants and eucalyptus trees, as well as some fencing and even some equipment, installed to monitor the area. It left in its wake a layer of ash, branches, and stumps. Read the full article