As firefighters continue to gain control over the Sand Fire in the Santa Clarita Valley, many residents have been left wondering about the long-term environmental impacts the blaze will have on local wildlife.

Initially sparked by an unknown cause on Friday, the Sand Fire burned nearly 40,000 acres by Wednesday morning in the areas of Sand Canyon, Placerita Canyon, Acton, Agua Dulce and the Angeles National Forest.

The Placerita Canyon area after the Sand Fire. Photo by Carl Goldman.

While some of the wild animals inhabiting these areas sadly perished in the fire, others managed to survive by either burrowing underground and waiting for it to pass or by fleeing using local wildlife corridors, according to Wendy Langhans, a local environmental expert.  

“When your habitat had been destroyed and you need to go to greener pastures, one of the things that allows the animals to do that is the wildlife corridors, especially the ones that we have here in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Langhans said. “(A wildfire) points out the need for having viable wildlife corridors, especially at times like this.”  

In terms of long-term effects on the burned land itself, Langhans noted that dead plant material converted into ash actually functions as a fertilizer, which helps the land regenerate.

“You’d be surprised how resilient our open spaces actually are,” she said. “One case in point for me was the ‘03 fire in Towsley Canyon. I remember driving along the road up into the canyon … and as I looked, the land was still smoking and it was black. I looked at that same patch of land six months later and it was bursting with green and flowers.”

Related: Sand Fire Update: Fire Now At 38,346 Acres, 40 Percent Containment

East Walker Ranch Open Space after the Sand Fire. Photo by Carl Goldman.

How well land recovers depends on the amount of rainfall in the months and years following a wildfire, but the type of habitat also has a significant impact on its recovery pattern.

For example, in certain areas, ash on the ground can function as “a solar power” that heats up the ground, causing seeds that have long been dormant in the soil to sprout after it rains, according to Langhans.

These unique plants are called “fire followers” because they only grow after a wildland fire, Langhas added.

An area previously covered in coastal scrub sage prior to a wildfire typically takes about four to 10 years to reach an equilibrium once again, but Langhans noted that the first few years often see “spectacular growth.”

Chaparral habitat can take 20 to 30 years to regain its equilibrium, but with the same kind of new growth in the first few years following a wildfire.

“So what we can look forward to,” Langhans continued, “are some things that we seldom see unless it’s the year or two after a fire.”