Butte Fire Burn Scar Getting Help From Above With Soil Erosion Problems

CALAVERAS COUNTY (CBS13) — A post-fire project is providing erosion control to burn scars from 2015's Butte Fire.

The Bureau of Land Management began dispersing thousands of yards of wood mulch between Calaveras and Amador counties on Thursday.

"What we're doing is putting these wood shreds on the ground on slopes that are between 40 and 60 percent slopes and trying to keep the soil where it's at," said Jerry Martinez.

It's covering 1,400 acres with wood chips in the two counties where the land was blackened by the Butte Fire.

"We're also spreading by hand, rice straw, wood strand then removing falling hazard trees and building fences and doing a lot of other things," he said.

It's tedious work for the 25-person crew that will take at least another month to complete.

"All of the slopes are direct feeders into the Jesus Maria Creek and the Mokelumne River. So the BLM felt these areas were very susceptible to extreme erosion," said Bryan Burr with Mountain West Helicopters.