Lake County community groups have raised nearly $60,000 to reforest the areas ravaged by last September's Valley Fire. The funds have allowed the greenhouse planting of 100,000 native conifer seedlings that will be ready for distribution in time for the winter 2016 planting season. The Valley Fire, which started in Cobb on Sept. 12, burned more than 76,000 acres.
In October, Greg Giusti, UC ANR Cooperative Extension director and forestry advisor in Lake County, and Korinn Woodard, district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCS), began to estimate the numbers of seeds needed for the first year of...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Many forest areas burned by wildfires this year are now facing a new threat – erosion. A UC Agriculture and Natural Resources expert says there are steps landowners can take to reduce the risk of losing soil and polluting waterways when rain falls.
“The loosened soil and ash can move quickly under proper storm conditions,” said Greg Giusti, a UC ANR Cooperative Extension forestry advisor. “Property owners should take immediate action.”
A longstanding practice in the West has been spreading grass seed after a fire, however, the seed is slow to germinate and grow during the cold months that follow fire...
The destructive Rough, Valley and Butte fires have raised awareness of the abundant wildfire fuels in forests, leading to calls for thinning to reduce fire risk. But where should land managers put the small trees, limbs and treetops they remove? How does thinning affect forest structure, wildlife and pests? The latest edition of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' California Agriculture journal contains a collection of peer-reviewed research articles on forest biomass energy, ecosystems and economics.
One way of disposing of the woody material is to burn it in biomass power plants to generate energy. However,...
Four years of drought has left California with acres of dry brush and dying trees, abundant fuel for wildfires. Currently, CalFIRE's fire map shows several major fires burning in California.
“There are two factors that help fires spread - winds and topography,” explained Scott L. Stephens, a professor of fire science in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, in
- Author: Kim Ingram
Between January 1 and March 15 of this year, 374 wildfires have burned 3,240 acres in California. According to CALFire, the five-year average for the same time period is 359 wildfires burning 1,124 acres. All of this during California's supposed wet winter months. As the East Coast bundles up and digs out from yet another storm, we in California have been shedding layers and applying sunscreen. Though we appreciate lower than normal seasonal disorder blues, we are facing a tough year ahead in terms of potential fire activity. The forest and shrub ecosystems are dry and with little relief in sight, many who live and recreate in the in these areas and their surrounding communities, are crossing their fingers that wildfire will not disrupt...
