Eaton Fire Restoration Continues and Chainsaw Work!

MWBA took advantage of a long holiday weekend (belated Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!) to host our first volunteer efforts of 2026. Saturday morning about 15 extra-dedicated volunteers came out for our public dig day restoring trails within the Eaton Fire burn scar. And on Sunday our chainsaw crews cleared all the downed trees on the stretch of Gabrieleno between Red Box Gap and Switzer's Picnic Area.

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Our public dig day saw a little extra shine from an LA Times newsletter called The Wild. As far as we can tell, The Wild is an excellent weekly round-up of outdoor, conservation-minded activities and locales. Author Jaclyn Cosgrove shares their favorite spots, links to several events, and provides really good information for anyone looking to venture outdoors. And thanks to their shout-out MWBA welcomed a couple new volunteers to our event. Growing an outdoor community of recreators, stewards, and other interested parties is directly in line with MWBA's mission, and we look forward to following Jaclyn's efforts towards our shared goals.

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Saturday started with a big ask: Get yourself and most everything you need to Cape of Good Hope up above the top of Sunset Ridge Trail. Although Mt. Lowe Rd. is now open to hikers, equestrians, and cyclists, the road has some iffy spots after the last rain event that make driving a car up it kinda dicey. We chose to limit the number of vehicles driving up to the work site. Volunteers had to hike, run, or ride up about 3 miles of fire road and/or singletrack and over 1500ft of vertical elevation before we even started. The extra effort didn't detract from our restoration work though! After our tailgate safety meeting we picked up tools and hiked into the work sites.

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A couple crews continued to improve and restore the Echo Mountain Connector section, clearing slides and widening tread. But most of our volunteers sped down to Middle Sam Merrill trail and took a first shot at repairing that trail post-fire. Eaton fire burned hot on this trail, and the wet year since last January has left us wondering just how bad the condition of the trail is. We are happy to report that even though hillside stabilization is still ongoing (the bare, burned hillsides continue to erode over the trail) the tread mostly remains intact. Over the course of 2026 MWBA will bring MSM back to life, and even though the area remains closed through 2027 we hope our efforts will encourage land managers to move that timetable up.

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After our workday concluded we reconvened at Cape of Good Hope and enjoyed some excellent banh mi and cold beverages. (Lunch and cold ones are ALWAYS provided for our incredible volunteers!) And volunteers got to enjoy the newly-opened trails in Millard Canyon on the way down.

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The next day, Sunday, two of our chainsaw crews responded to reports of downed trees on the Gabrieleno between Red Box and Switzer's. We hiked down the trail, clearing every downed tree along the way and doing some much-needed whitethorn abatement between them.

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Newly minted B Sawyer Brian Kim supervised his crew on this adventure, and used his expertise to buck down some large, complicated deadfall.

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We also happen to know that Lowelifes Respectable Citizens' Club chainsaw crew was out on Colby Canyon Trail just on the other side of Strawberry Peak this week, so the whole Strawberry Loop should be as good as it gets right now!

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MWBA always appreciates reports of downed trees and other trail mishaps on the trails we steward. When you're out enjoying the trails and come across an issue, take a picture of it and note where you are on the trail. Then just shoot us an email (info@mwba.org) and/or hit us up on FB or IG when you're back in range. We'll get on it ASAP!

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Our next public workday is Sunday, February 15th 2026. Keep an eye on our socials for more information about where we're working and how to sign up. We'll see you out there. Happy trails!