While doing a run from the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch) yesterday, I came across the tracks of mountain lion headed (north) up the fire road in Las Virgenes Canyon.
The tracks were on the smaller side for a mountain lion, and probably those of a female or adolescent.
Some related posts:
– It’s Raining Mountain Lion Tracks!
– Mountain Lion Tracks on Rocky Peak Road
– Mountain Lion Saga
The information in this post may be incorrect or out of date. For official information, see the Kenneth Fire incident page on the CAL FIRE website. The perimeter is from the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group and National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) website. The perimeter shown has a poly_DateCurrent of 1/11/2025 1:34:57 AM UTC.
The Kenneth Fire started Thursday afternoon, January 9, 2025, near the Victory Trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (Ahmanson Ranch).
According to an MRCA post on Instagram, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve reopened on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
The Sunday before the start of the Palisades Fire, I ran the Trippet Ranch Loop from the Top of Reseda. Yet another weak cold front had brushed Southern California, producing little precipitation. The weather was nearly perfect for the run — breezy at times, with moderate temperatures and some high clouds.
The NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office was already expressing concern about a potentially dangerous wind event early in the week. In an Area Forecast Discussion midday Sunday, they warned, “..STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS AND HIGH FIRE DANGER LIKELY FOR PORTIONS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES…” Of course, few of us could envision the staggering devastation that would ensue in the week ahead.
The eastern horizon glowed orange as I ran down Fire Road #30 from dirt Mulholland. If I could have seen a few days into the future, the road would have been filled with firefighters and equipment battling to halt the Palisades Fire’s westward progress. The road was empty this morning, save the scurrying towhees and raucous scrub jays.
At the Hub, I stopped to take a photo of Eagle Rock. Bush poppy, a prolific fire follower, covered much of the area between the Hub and Eagle Rock. This burned in the 2021 Palisades Fire. The hazy view extended past Eagle Rock to Calabasas Peak and Boney Mountain.
Before descending to Trippet Ranch on Eagle Springs Fire Road, I turned east on Temescal Ridge Fire Road. I would return to the Hub, but first, I wanted to visit Temescal Peak and Temescal Lookout. These viewpoints have expansive views of the Santa Monica Mountains and beyond. This photo (from a previous run) is a view of downtown Los Angeles from Temescal Peak. The chaparral in the photo is typical of the vegetation in the Santa Monica Mountains. Most of this would have burned in the 2025 Palisades Fire. On a day with good visibility, San Jacinto Peak can be seen from either viewpoint. Despite some haziness, San Jacinto Peak could still be seen from Temescal Lookout this morning.
Returning to the Hub, I ran down Eagle Springs Fire Road and through the footprint of the 2021 Palisades Fire. The bright yellow flowers of bush poppy shone brightly in the morning sun. When the perimeter of the 2021 fire is overlapped with the 2025 fire, it suggests that bush poppy and other transitional vegetation in the 2021 burn area did not burn as readily in the 2025 fire as the usual chaparral species.
Later, as I approached the Trippet Ranch parking lot, I was welcomed by the local mule deer herd (video). It’s common to see them here and other nearby fields. There were a few does of various ages and a multi-point buck. Although extremely wary, several of the does were oddly curious.
Continuing past the information kiosk at the corner of the parking lot, I headed up the paved road and picked up the Musch Trail. Although we haven’t had much rain this Rain Year, the past two Rain Years were very wet. Paradoxically, the vegetation is bone dry, but some small creeks and springs that haven’t run for years — such as Eagle Springs — still have water. Reflecting last year’s rain, a heavy load of red-orange berries cover most of the toyon bushes along the Musch Trail and throughout the Santa Monica Mountains.
At the top of the Musch Trail, I turned left and worked up Eagle Rock Fire Road, past Eagle Rock, to the top of the Garapito Trail. At times, over the past couple of years, this outstanding trail has been almost impassable. Volunteer trailwork has cleared and repaired the trail multiple times. It’s a good trail for wildflowers, but the lack of rain has reduced the number of early bloomers. Today, canyon sunflower, California everlasting, and California fuchsia were blooming along the trail. This misshapen bush sunflower was blooming along Fire Road #30, near its junction with the Garapito Trail.
This zoomed-in 3D-terrain view of the Palisades Fire perimeter shows the general area of the Trippet Ranch Loop, Temescal Peak, and Temescal Lookout. As of January 23, the Trippet Ranch main parking lot, Musch Trail and Camp, and Eagle Rock appear to be outside of the burn area. Most of Eagle Rock Fire Road, Eagle Springs Fire Road, and the Garapito Trail also appear to be outside the perimeter.
Most parks and open space areas in or near the Palisades Fire burn area remain closed. For more information see:
– 2025 Los Angeles Fires
– California State Parks Incidents Overview
– MRCA Parks
– Topanga State Park
– Top of Reseda (Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park)
The information in this post may be incorrect or out of date. For official information see the Palisades Fire incident page on the CAL FIRE website. The perimeter is from the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group and National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) website. The perimeter shown has a poly_DateCurrent of 1/14/2025 4:30:52 AM UTC.
Also included is a Copernicus Sentinel-2 overlay a few minutes after the start of the fire. The image data was processed using an Active Fire Detection script from SentinelHub. The image sensing timestamp is January 7, 2025 at 10:36:49 AM PST. Here is a broader view of the Sentinel-2 L1C image processed with the Active Fire Detection script.
The active fire detected coincides with the smoke plume near Skull Rock discussed in this Washington Post article. As the article notes, this is in the area burned by the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. Here is a zoomed-in 3D terrain view of the area near Skull Rock.
The approximate location hypothesized in the Washington Post article of the area where there might have been re-ignition of the New Year’s Eve fire near Skull Rock is also noted.
The locations of placemarks, trails, and other data are approximate and subject to error.
Related post: 2021 Palisades Fire Perimeter and Some Area Trails
On the way down from Saddle Peak last Sunday, the “knob” at the end of Calabasas Peak’s southeast ridge caught my eye. For some time, I’ve been curious about the ridge and the unique sandstone ribs that form its backbone. The odd knob at the end of the ridge just increased my curiosity.
This morning found me running (and hiking) up Calabasas Peak Mtwy. fire road towards Calabasas Peak. My rough plan was to do Calabasas Peak, explore the rock formations along the peak’s southeast ridge, and then do Topanga Lookout Ridge Loop and Saddle Peak.
Near the top of the fire road, I stopped to take a photo of the rock formations and rising sun. The marine layer created a peculiar veil of fog and haze that accentuated the rocks and ridges.
After a quick ascent of Calabasas Peak, I returned to the viewpoint at the top of the fire road and started working down the southeast ridge. A steep, brushy, convoluted, little-used path wound down and around the tops of the rock ribs along the ridge to a small clearing at a saddle below the “knob.”
It turned out that it was not a knob but another rocky rib that looked like a knob when viewed head-on. It was relatively easy to access the rib from the clearing. I ascended the rib until I ran out of rock, then descended it to a point below where I had joined it.
I briefly debated continuing down the ridge but decided to retrace my steps and return up the ridge to the viewpoint.
Once back on the fire road, I jogged down to its junction with Red Rock Road and started up Topanga Lookout Ridge. The rib at the end of Calabasas Peak’s southeast ridge doesn’t look anything like a knob from Topanga Lookout Ridge!
Later in the run, when I was on the way down from Saddle Peak, I looked across the canyon at the “knob” on Calabasas Peak and smiled. Checking it out had been an enjoyable adventure.
The last time Downtown Los Angeles had more than a smattering of rain was mid-April 2024 — more than 250 days ago. To date, the Rain Year beginning July 1, 2024 has been one of the two driest in the 147+ year weather record for Downtown Los Angeles.
Because of the time of year, and lack of rain, not many wildflowers were blooming along Los Angeles area trails at the end of 2024. One exception was this brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) on the southwest corner of Lasky Mesa in Ahmanson Ranch.
If Los Angeles doesn’t see any rain by January 9 — which appears likely — the period July 1, 2024 to January 9, 2025 will be tied with 1962-63 for the driest on record.