Aerial hydromulching for most of the foothill areas burned during the Gap Fire has been completed—ahead of schedule and on budget, Santa Barbara County Public Works Department officials announced on Oct. 17.
On Oct. 7, the county began its portion of aerial hydromulching work for approximately 1,000 acres of land burned by the Gap Fire in July. The fire burned a total of approximately 9,400 acres, much of which sits in steep, inaccessible terrain in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Goleta.
The county hired Aerotech, Inc. to make more than 2,100 individual flights to repair the damaged areas. The company also helped treat the national forest lands burned by the fire.
According to a press release from the county, most of the aerial hydromulching was funded by the Emergency Watershed Protection Program through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a sister agency to the U.S. Forest Service.
The county’s portion of the hydromulching cost about $3.2 million. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is paying about 75 percent, or $2.4 million, of the total. The remaining balance is being paid with a combination of funds, including payments of $70,000 each from the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara. The state is also expected to cover some of the remaining costs.
While the hydromulching was successful, county officials still recommend that residents living below or near the Gap Fire burn area consider buying flood insurance. The county also recommends that residents and business owners develop individualized emergency preparedness plans.
For more information about emergency preparedness for the Gap Fire burn area, visit countyofsb.org or ready.gov. For more information on Los Padres National Forest, visit fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/conditions.
This article appears in Oct 23-30, 2008.