On Aug. 8, the Kula community lost 16 homes to the wildfire that continued to flare up for more than two months. Now, neighbors are coming together to find hope in the form of land restoration.
More than 80 Kula fire survivors, landowners and conservation experts have formed a community alliance to tackle the looming concern of erosion.
“About 200 acres of the burn scar in Kula was forest and as we were moving around post-fire, we realized, 'Oh my goodness, we have a huge erosion risk here,'” said Sara Tekula, acting executive director of the Kula Community Watershed Alliance.
Invasive trees like black wattle and eucalyptus burned in the wildfire and were downed by high winds the same day, leaving the landscape bare.
“The trees are kind of holding the soil in place and not only does the trunk burn, but the roots also burn. That means that even further down into the soil, we have instability and we also have really hydrophobic soils, meaning soils that repel water," Tekula explained.
"So it's really dangerous for a rain event to come along in a situation like this. So we're kind of in a little race against time. We don't know when the next big rain event will come, but we do know we're hitting the winter season now," she said.
Tekula said heavy rain could cause runoff leading to landslides, damage to nearby homes, and pose a risk to bridges and road access. It could also drain into wetlands and ultimately, bring more sediment to the reef.
Community volunteers, private contractors and ecology experts have been working one parcel at a time. Kula Community Watershed Alliance members started with areas at the most risk for erosion.
They first clear the site of stumps and debris. Then they cover the burned area with at least four inches of wood chips, made from fallen invasive trees right in Kula.
Tekula said the chips stabilize the soil and hold moisture. Next will come fencing, replanting with native species and other restoration efforts.
The group launched earlier this month and has already raised more than $200,000 to fund its work.
Tekula said the project brings both environmental and emotional restoration.
“I think people started to see the hope and the opportunity in the landscape even though they had been through so much grief and trauma with the fire,” she said. “This was something that people could look forward to and have some hope about the land.”
