City staff outline wildfire damage in Upper Bidwell Park; hundreds of trees surveyed, removals planned

City of Chico parks officials told the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission on Aug. 26 that wildfire damage in Upper Bidwell Park is extensive and patchy, and that addressing the ecological and safety effects will require phased work, monitoring and outside funding.

Linda Herman, Park and Natural Resources Manager, showed drone footage and a damage map and said patches of the park remain green while nearby slopes were heavily burned. "The green are wet areas that weren't burned or very little damage, and the red is where there was the most damage," she said, describing how the fire spread rapidly and re-intensified the following day.

Urban Forest Manager Ritchie Bamlett said the tree-survey effort has already identified more than 700 trees with varying levels of damage; staff removed 16 hazard trees near the fire origin and marked others for monitoring or removal. "There were 16 [trees removed] in total," Bamlett said. "Some trees were fully cooked; others have a chance and we'll reassess in a month." He described using cambium assessments to decide which trees to remove and said some live oaks show sprouting potential that could support long-term restoration.

Commissioners raised concerns about erosion and sediment entering Big Chico Creek and Sycamore Pool. Staff said they are coordinating with the Resource Conservation District and other partners on sediment-control phases and on grant applications; they are tracking costs for potential reimbursement. Herman noted constraints on in-channel heavy equipment under current permits and said some channel work would require separate permitting and Fish and Wildlife coordination. "The FEMA hazard-mitigation grant did not allow us to do any work within 50 feet of the channel," she said.

Commissioners also asked whether Upper Park Road could be reopened to vehicles; staff said reopening would be a City Council-level decision and that the commission should bring the issue forward to council for consideration. On replanting, Bamlett said some replanting is possible and that live oaks can resprout, but large-scale restoration depends on funding and phased planning.

Next steps: staff will continue monitoring marked trees, deploy contracted arbor crews for imminent hazard removals, pursue grants and coordinate permitting and sediment-control measures before heavy restoration work.

Note: staff did not provide a definitive park-wide burned-acreage figure the evening of Aug. 26; Linda Herman said she would follow up with that information when available.