After The Storms
Los Angeles, the city with 365 days of summer is where people comes to find love, eat kale and stay tan. But since a historic drought dating back to 2013, the land has been dry and fire hazards have gone up. Back in the fall of 2015, Joseph Serna from the Los Angeles Times wrote that, “any hint of rain” would be considered good news for the parched land. But a light sprinkle wouldn’t be enough. When the expected El Nino rains of 2015–2016 failed to materialize, it started to seem like we were cursed.
I’m what one calls a local, raised in the Pacific Palisades, a little town North of Santa Monica and south of Malibu, where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the beach. Most people have only ever heard of it’s hiking trails. Topanga State Park spills into the backend of the Palisades, a place where the locals, tourists, and tinder dates convene for some fresh air and exercise on beautiful weekend days like this one.
It’s just another entrancing day on tinder mountain. I let the woman dressed in an obnoxiously bright colored sport bra paired with lulu lemon leggings and the muscle head wearing aviator Ray-Bans pass me as I prepare my Aretha Franklin hike playlist. Early winter has brought some rains to California, more up North than down here in sunny SoCal, but enough to relieve up to 40-percent of the state from official drought status for the first time since early 2013. The other 60 percent are in a waiting game for an element only the sky can give.
At the first peak, a group of tourists have stopped for a photo op.
“Hey, do you mind taking a pic for us?” a woman from the pack asks a water-sipping stranger.
“Sure,” he says handing his bottle to a friend.
The group poses for a photo.
“One, two, three,” he counts off.
“One more,” one of them calls out.
As they try to capture the perfect picture, a hawk flies overhead and dives behind the mountains up ahead. He probably saw lunch.
A ranger patrol truck pulls up the dirt road and waves as he passes the group of hikers. He smiles and stealthly scopes to make sure there aren’t any fugitive dogs running around their ankles. It’s a $250 dollar, but people still risk it.
The trail is still damp after what USA TODAY described as the “weak and short-lived La Niña” hit the state. The sun is high, but the plants still perk up from the storm. They are still taking in the moisture. They probably need more. Nature is quiet. The sky is clear, but not the typical Cali-clear. It’s the calm before the storm clear.
The storm comes on February 19, one of the most powerful and drenching in years. Six inches of rain fall over a span of days. CNN reports “power is still out and cars submerged across Southern California. The roads certainly weren’t ready for the rain, but mountians are ready for more.
It’s March 26th. After a month of showers, I thought it might be a good idea to see what the Topanga trails look like after the first rainy winter in years. I head up the street of Paseo Miramar beside parked cars, most likely none of them belonging to the residences on the hill. Before I make to to the trailhead, I notice the street looks different. The hedges are higher, the flowers are brighter. Some of the yards look like a scene from Jumanji.
I hear a buzzing hum. Just above my head is a bee hive hanging on to the thickest branch on the tree. A cloud of them swarming the nest that holds their queen. A few poeple stare as I try to take a photo.
Finally, I reach the dirt. The trail looks the greenest I’ve seen it in years. After having what Mark Gomez from the San Jose Mercury News describes as “the wettest winter in 20 years,” about 75 percent of California is drought free. Despite the millions of dollars in flood damage from the February deluge, the mountains seem hpapy.
Just a week ago the path was damp and the barely there greenery was limp. Today, the trail is encompassed rich growing green, lively milfoils and California poppies. As I trek up the mountain, I admire the new additions mother nature has brought the Santa Monica Mountains. A couple stop and admire the view, overlooking the fresh green. The view is no new scene for me, but the green, that is something I haven’t seen up here in a long time.
The deep contrast in greens, butterflies, bees all refreshing sights to see. It’s fascinating to see what the natural environment can do in such a small amount of time. Los Angeles fears the rain, there’s a myth that we can’t and shouldn’t drive so we hide indoors. But water is a beautiful thing. Charles Bukowski said something that always stuck: “People run from rain but sit in bathtubs full of water.” Water is water, but rain is probably the purist form. So as I observe the tourist sightseeing and tinder dates that wouldn’t have been here during the showers, I think about the lions, the lizards, and the birds that all bathed in them.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “Governor Brown declares California drought emergency is over.” After long, thirsty years of being at extreme fire risk, the Santa Monica Mountains can finally relax.
Shortly after the storm, the Times reports on a new addition to the Santa Monica mountain lion family, baby P-54. Obviously the rain didn’t give us this new blessing of life, but it certainly will make things better for the little guy. No more going thirsty for the P family.
Despite the relief, California needs to stay practical. Governor Brown told the Times, “this drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner.” Conservation must remain a way of life.” Bettina Boxall, who covers water issues for the Times, says, “conservation must remain a way of life.” Bans on wasteful water practices such as watering yards when it’s raining remain in place. Maybe we can thank the drought for reinstating common sense.
