Reserve Steward Paul Havemann took the first-ever step onto a freshly carved stone staircase at the Stebbins Cold Canyon Natural Reserve on Friday and broke out in a satisfied smile.

“This is so good,” he said, bounding up the steps and toward the next stretch of trail. “Good on the knees. A nice, hard step.”

The steps, chiseled from the sandstone by volunteers earlier that morning, will lead hikers to a newly made-over and expanded reserve – one that people who visited frequently before the Wragg Fire of 2015 may hardly recognize when the area reopens Sunday.

The 638-acre Stebbins Reserve, part of the University of California Natural Reserve System and operated by UC Davis, is a jackpot for both wildlife researchers and hikers in search of soaring Lake Berryessa views. When the Wragg Fire tore through Stebbins and 7,500 acres of surrounding terrain in July, the reserve’s staff closed the area to the public to assess the damage and rebuild.

The ecological effects of the blaze are evident. Charred scrub oaks, Toyon shrubs and Yerba Santa trees line the popular 5-mile Blue Ridge Loop trail, their blackened boughs a sharp contrast to the bright-green grasses that sprouted from the barren soil in the recent rains. A lone manzanita, fondly referred to by reserve staff as the “teaching manzanita” for its proximity to the footpath and popularity with students, is showing no signs of regrowth. High on the ridgeline, the California blue oaks that once peppered the upper slopes are few and far between.

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