Signs of new life are evident at Fossil Creek 16 months after the Backbone Fire closed the area. Vegetation and wildlife are adapting to the landscape.
FOSSIL CREEK — Fossil Creek Road curves through Coconino National Forest, hugging the hillsides and dipping deep into the valleys. The 14-mile dirt road winds from its spur with Route 260 near Camp Verde past mountainsides blanketed with native grass and tree canopies, forming streaks of mossy green waves that seem to verify the nearby town's Spanish-derived name.
Visitors returning to Fossil Creek will find a newly repaired road, regenerated riparian vegetation and wildlife that is adapting to an altered landscape. O’Neil says Fossil Creek has changed and will continue to change over time as the land continues to heal. The Forest Service will continue to monitor the area and could close it again during next year’s monsoon season, but for now, the site is evidence of how the land can recover after even the worst of wildfires.
After a major fire, the risk for flooding greatly increases as soil becomes more susceptible to erosion and also becomes hydrophobic, a process that causes the soil to repel rainfall instead of absorbing it. The U.S. Geological Survey calls flooding one of the most dangerous hazards following wildfire.Prior to the Backbone Fire, the service had already received funding to perform repairs along a stretch of Fossil Creek Road.
But the Backbone Fire decimated most of the area’s riparian vegetation and, with less of it, the risk of flooding grew. “One of the things we are worried about is recreation,” says O’Neil. “These pools are changing depth really frequently.” Some of the most severe burns in the area were in Boulder Canyon, where high, steep slopes created the ideal conditions for severe sediment runoff. Officials say the sediment buildup at Boulder Canyon is responsible for the deposits that have filled stretches of the creek downstream at Sally May.
O’Neil points to a broken branch that clings to a tree near the bridge, a visual reminder of how intense post-fire flooding can be. Flood waters rose in this spot nearly four feet. “Fossil has changed, it will continue to change,” he said. “It definitely has not reached any sort of equilibrium”A pack of wild javelinas emerge from some brush along Fossil Creek Road, crossing one by one as the car idles. The native species have remained in the area since the fire.
Initial invertebrate samples conducted by Long indicate that diversity has not been negatively affected, but appears to be stronger than pre-fire reports. Long says macroinvertebrates are a strong indicator of a healthy habitat.
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