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In the last week, fires have decimated towns in Northern California, killing dozens and devouring thousands of homes.

The flames have claimed three lives in Southern California and have turned mansions and trailers into piles of ash in Malibu. They have also destroyed something else: Many of the region’s gems for outdoor recreation are suddenly blackened and charred.

Some 86 percent of the federal land within the Santa Monica National Recreation Area has been burned by the Woolsey Fire, according to the National Park Service. That is nearly 20,000 acres — including Paramount Ranch, Solstice Canyon, Circle X Ranch and Peter Strauss Ranch, where Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson performed.

These are some of the most treasured places in Southern California, campgrounds and trails that are quintessential Los Angeles. They are now more moonscape than pristine lookouts. For those of us who love to spend our weekends in the mountains and hills around Malibu, this is devastating too.