Planners are redesigning Big Basin State Park after it was devastated by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in 2020.
In Big Basin State Park, nature has been on the path to self-healing since the fire.
The tough redwood trees, some of which are thousands of years old, are still charred black on the outside. But new, green branches are sprouting from the inside.
“It’s still a magical place. The feeling of being here is almost incomparable,” said Tony Carranza, who came from Simi Valley with his wife, Corina, to hike what remains his favorite place in California.
“Walking and hiking today made me feel a little emotional because I remember what it looked like before the fire,” Carranza said.
In August 2020, lightning strikes sparked devastating fires that destroyed 86,000 acres of land in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, including nearly all of Big Basin State Park.
Every one of the park’s historic buildings was burned to the ground, and today the chimney of the old lodge, built in 1911, stands like a lonely tombstone over what was lost.
“This is where Big Basin’s most iconic building stood, the administration building,” said Will Fourt, lead project planner for the group now redesigning Big Basin’s future.
Fourt said that in the future there would be no rebuilding on the historic building sites.
“We don’t plan to rebuild everything the way it was. This area is the former administration building, this area will have a much smaller footprint,” he said.
This week, Big Basin is unveiling plans to relocate major visitor parking, campgrounds, concessions and administration to the Saddle Mountain area on the southeast edge of the park.
The plan calls for shuttle buses to take visitors to popular trailheads, and the currently paved lots surrounded by ancient redwood trees will be converted to a natural forest floor to ensure the long-term health of the trees.
And although the old historic lodges cannot be rebuilt, the new buildings will incorporate some of their design features.
“Experiences that people love about Big Basin, like seeing the old growth trees, hiking, camping and staying overnight in the redwoods,” Fourt said. “That will still be possible. The changes will be less paving here in the heart of the old growth forest and less construction. It will be a more natural experience.”
Some Saddle Mountain neighbors who live near the proposed activity centers have complained about increased traffic and noise.
But park visitors KPIX spoke to welcome the changes, including a family from Hungary.
Their first visit was six years ago and the old cell phone photos are still proof of it. After hearing about the fire in their home country, they still wanted to return there again.
“Restoring some man-made structures that would be important for visitors would be fine. But I think nature should come first,” said Dalma Peteni.
Putting nature first is the driving force behind the new Big Basin plan, a plan that could help preserve the living monuments for centuries longer.
Further public meetings are planned to review the site designs, with a decision on selecting a preferred plan expected sometime next year.
Len Ramirez
