Motte Rimrock Reserve

On August 22, 2011, the Motte Rimrock Reserve experienced a wildfire that scorched approximately 200 acres of Riversidean coastal sage scrub vegetation. Thanks to the efforts of Cal Fire, the extent of the fire was kept to a minimum. No structures on the Reserve, or homes located adjacent to the Reserve in the City of Perris, were affected. Researchers from the Biology Department and the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at UC Riverside have tentative plans to study the effects of the fire to the sage scrub ecosystem.

Below are photos taken the day after the fire on August 23, 2011.  In the months that follow, we plan to augment these photos to show the changes that occur to the plant community as regeneration takes place as a result of the fall and winter rains.