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Rescued SoCal steelhead spawn new life after Palisades Fire. Here’s how to visit them
A Southern California steelhead trout.
(
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
)
The Southern California steelhead trout that were saved from localized extinction after debris from the Palisades Fire inundated Topanga Creek are doing much better than expected in their new home.
Kyle Evans, environmental program manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told LAist he’s surprised there’s already about a hundred newly hatched trout after they started to spawn the next generation in Santa Barbara County’s Arroyo Hondo Preserve — and he thinks that could be an undercount.
“These fish are incredible, and they're incredibly resilient,” Evans said. “They just need a little bit of help, you know, when it comes to the recovery of these species.”
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How they’re doing now
The roughly 270 rescued trout, which are considered critically endangered in their historic habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains, have nearly doubled their numbers in a few months.
They were moved to Arroyo Hondo Creek because of its similarities to Topanga Creek, which filled in after a post-Palisades Fire storm washed ash and sediment into the area.
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The preserve also has a history of recovering from fires, specifically the Alisal Fire in 2021.
“ We lost all the fish that were in our creek,” said Meredith Hendricks, executive director of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. “For the last couple of years, we've been working to allow the preserve to recover, and the creek is now in great shape.”
She told LAist it seemed like a natural transition for the trout, especially since the creek is within their historic range and they weren’t displacing any other animals. Plus, it underwent a fish passage improvement project, which is basically a fish bridge, so they don’t run into any barriers coming into the creek.
Officials were concerned that the stress of the move may have disrupted the trout’s spawning process, but they were in between a rock and a hard place, Evans said.
“ If we left them there, they would've died,” he said. “It was like, well, I hope you guys are OK. … So it was really exciting to basically see that they have been spawning.”
As Hendricks said in a statement — "life finds a way."
How we got here
The trout spent some time at the Fillmore Fish Hatchery after they were taken from Topanga Creek.
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The Southern California steelhead trout rescue.
(
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
)
The trout are still safely swimming in Fillmore.
(
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
)
Evans said they were expecting to lose up to 30% of the rescued fish during the transition. They ended up losing just six trout total.
“My goal is to have them back in all the rivers around Southern California, so that as a community, you know, we can have this back again.”
Mrs. Helen Henderson, 20, of Lancaster displays her trout catch on April 20, 1957.
(
Valley Times Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
)
Fishers in San Gabriel Canyon during trout season on April 30, 1955.
(
George O'Day
/
Herald Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library
)
How to see the SoCal steelhead
You can visit the trout in their new home.
The Arroyo Hondo Preserve is open to guests from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and third full weekends of the month. You’ll need to make a reservation online in advance.
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Free guided hikes and educational field trips are also available.
You can find more information here.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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