Watch: Baby trout signal endangered species' recovery after California Palisades Fire burns habitat
The Palisades Fire scorched through nearly 24,000 acres, including parts of the 18-square-mile Topanga Creek watershed in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Endangered Southern California steelhead trout show signs of rebounding after Palisades Fire
At least 100 baby Southern California steelhead trout have been born to trout that had survived the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County in January.
LOS ANGELES – The endangered Southern California steelhead trout appear to be rebounding after the Palisades Fire destroyed their native habitat in Los Angeles County.
The Palisades Fire scorched through nearly 24,000 acres in January, including parts of the 18-square-mile Topanga Creek watershed in the Santa Monica Mountains – the only home to the endangered trout.
To help the species rebound, survivors of the wildfire were rescued and transplanted into their new habitat of Arroyo Hondo Creek in nearby Santa Barbara County.
Officials recently announced that the rescued fish have spawned at least 100 baby trout.
Baby Southern California steelhead trout.
(California Department of Fish and Wildlife / FOX Weather)
"The 1-inch-long baby trout are a sign the population is healthy and thriving in their new digs just north of Topanga Creek," the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The CDFW noted that the fish will be returned to Topanga Creek, once the watershed has recovered from the wildfire. There, the fish will be the last remaining population of Southern California steelhead trout in the Santa Monica Mountains.
About 271 Southern California steelhead trout were rescued from Topanga Creek after the Palisades Fire in January, according to the CDFW.
Gathering Southern California steelhead trout from Topanga Creek after the Palisades Fire.
(California Department of Fish and Wildlife / FOX Weather)
While the cool waters of Topanga Creek saved the fish, the agency said rain pouring over burn scars and bringing debris, sediment and ash to the creek put the fish at risk of suffocation and extinction.
"These fish are incredible. They are adapted to drier summers and warmer water temperatures; they have a really complex life where they can either stay in the creek their whole life or go to the ocean and come back," CDFW Environmental Program Manager Kyle Evans said in a February statement. "They're a very adaptable, important, iconic species whose success represents a healthy watershed, and healthy watersheds mean better water quality for us all. Protecting this population and their home habitats isn’t just good for the trout, it benefits the Californians of this community and beyond."