iHeartRadio Los Angeles is joining the non-profit organization, TreePeople's efforts in assisting the restoration and propagation of our surrounding mountains affected by the Malibu Woolsey fires.
Your ongoing support helps TreePeople take a nature-based approach to restoration and resilience . Your donation will help fund the seedlings of native plant species, which we are growing in TreePeople's nursery right now. These seeds will be used to propagate these burn sites and help revitalize our communities.
As the secondary-responders who will be tasked to help nature heal itself, know that your donations will be used to pay for tools, equipment and our ongoing research to better understand how these wildfires can be mitigated.
California is living through its deadliest fire in history.
The Malibu Woolsey Fire burned almost 100,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties within 7 days forcing close to 200,000 residents from their homes. In Northern California, the Camp Fire has become the deadliest wildfire in California history with more than 80 dead and over 1,000 people still missing. These threats underscore how much we need to come together and support each other.
The size of the Malibu Woolsey fire now measures more than 150 square miles, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Fire Chief Daryl Osby—roughly the size of the City of Denver, Colorado.
Fueled by low humidity, extended droughts and gusty winds, the death and destruction of the fires in California have made us more determined than ever to implement our solutions for climate and fire resilience….we cannot afford to lose anymore lives, wildlife, forests or millions of acres of precious land.
Since the wildfires started, TreePeople has been moved with calls from people like you who wanted to do something to help. Our precious mountains and impacted communities will need you more than ever before...and we invite you to rise to the challenge.
“What would nature do?”
She would...Start with the Roots. Go Native. Take the Long View.
Start with the Roots
After a burn, the land may look like a moonscape on the surface, but we have to consider what’s going on underground. From observation, we learn that chaparral burn quickly but the roots are still alive. For one to two years after a burn, we study what native plants will grow, and thus create shade for the ground, fix the soil and provide food for pollinators like bees and other insects. Seeds that have been stored in soil over time, sometimes even from 100 years ago, are waiting for sunshine, smoke, ash, or water to stimulate their growth.
Go Native
In fire damaged areas, we remove competition from invasive plants and see if the ecosystem has a robust response. If the area is so damaged that it doesn’t respond, we then look at what has historically grown in that particular site. To give the whole ecosystem a boost we’ll plant native annuals, grasses, chaparral, and trees. In some cases, we collect seeds on-site and grow seedlings at our greenhouse in TreePeople’s nursery to be planted on-site.
Take the Long View
As Cody Chappel, TreePeople Wildlands Restoration Manager, explains, “Immediately after a wildfire, there’s an emotional public demand for action; and we begin to assess, evaluate and surgically plan towards recovery and resilience . We don’t want to stampede into a fragile area and stomp around where amazing unseen processes are at work. For instance, the U.S. Forest Service typically waits a year to observe the response of the ecosystem. We are ready to continue our ongoing restoration jobs. Ultimately, Mother Nature decides what survives where.”
To see how our work has revitalized our mountain forests and streets throughout the decades, visit the TreePeople Then & Now page.
Donate to TreePeople California Emergency Fire Recovery Fund.
Photo credit: Getty Imags