Santa Monica Mountains last steelhead trout survived the Palisades fire and even had babies
Scientists feared the Santa Monica Mountains’ last remaining steelhead trout were dead, smothered by debris flows unleashed by the Palisades fire.But the endangered fish surprised them: A team of biologists recently spotted 30 of the rare trout — and 21 babies — in Topanga Creek.“There was a lot of happy dancing in the creek,” said Rosi Dagit, principal conservation biologist for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, which works with public and private landowners to conserve natural resources.That’s because the steelhead here are endangered, at both the state and federal levels.
Once, they swam in most streams of the Santa Monicas, but their numbers plummeted amid overfishing and coastal development.Increasingly frequent wildfire has further stressed their habitat.
Topanga Creek, a biodiversity hot spot, is home to their last known population in the mountains that stretch from the Hollywood Hills to Point Mugu in Ventura County.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife spearheaded a complex mission to rescue trout threatened by the Palisades fire that sparked in January 2025.Time was of the essence.
The fire hadn’t yet been fully contained.But rain was on the way, which would sweep massive amounts of sediment from the denuded hillsides into the water.
Fish are often killed this way.Crews stunned the fish with electricity, scooped them up in buckets, trucked them to a hatchery and ultimately moved them to Arroyo Hondo Creek in Santa Barbara County.
Within days, Topanga Creek was choked with mud.Some assumed the fish left behind were goners.But in March, the conservation district’s team found four.
The following month, when water conditions were clearer, they saw more.“These fish continue to amaze me,” said Kyle Evans, environmental program manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who had seen the damage to the creek.
“I had seen populations get wiped out in similar situations.So when I heard...