Restoring Cuyamaca's tree canopy is years away. Some birds may never return

SAN DIEGO — It is a 2.6-mile hike up Lookout Road to reach Cuyamaca Peak from Paso Picacho Campground. The paved path winds its way upward, gaining more than 1,600 feet of elevation as it passes through endless thickets of shrubs dotted with snags, those blackened and sun-bleached vertical reminders that this used to be a forest trek. Twenty years after the Cedar fire ripped through Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in eastern San Diego County, there is a lot more sunshine and a lot less birdsong. The dappled shade of tall conifers has long ago given way to broader views of the surrounding mountainsi...