Endangered frogs snatched as tadpoles from fire-ravaged mountains above Los Angeles in 2020 were returned home last year in a moment of hope and excitement.
But the California amphibians are once again in the line of fire and another rescue mission could be in the cards.
Massive wildfires are raging through the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains — two of the three ranges where Southern California mountain yellow-legged frogs eke out a fragile existence in a handful of isolated streams. As of Saturday, the fires had chewed through more than 90,000 acres and there is worry the flames may be encroaching on the frog’s critical habitat.
The federally endangered frogs are “a high priority because these fires are in the only known locations” for the species, said Hans Sin, a biologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s South Coast region. The San Jacinto Mountains, in Riverside County, are their only other hopping grounds.
On Thursday, Sin said he met with the U.S. Forest Service to work out a game plan for the frogs of the San Gabriels. (The San Bernardino range is served by a different CDFW region .)