After the Walbridge and Glass Fires devastated our community last year, we quickly assembled a skilled 5-person crew to help properties recover and to protect the Russian River Watershed from toxic runoff.
So far, we’ve accomplished the following:
- 64 properties helped
- 12 creeks protected
Wine Creek, Grape Creek, Chapman Branch Creek, Crane Creek, Pechaco Creek, Wallace Creek, Mill Creek, Palmer Creek, Angel Creek, Boyd Creek, Gray Creek, E. Austin Creek - 422 wattles placed, equating to 10,550 linear feet
- 3,498 wooden stakes pounded
- 26 straw bales spread as mulch over 26,000 sq feet
- 22,500 sq feet of jute netting fabric installed
- 3,086 staples used to secure fabric
- 219 steel pins used on unstable creek banks
After fully utilizing our funding for the Walbridge fire area, we’ve now been been busy working in the Glass Fire zone in the hills East of Santa Rosa. We’re installing straw wattles around burned structures on the banks of Mark West Creek, Van Buren Creek, and in the upper watershed of Ducker Creek which is a tributary to Rincon Creek. We’re also spreading rice straw and wood chips over disturbed bare slopes.
The devastation is tremendous and there is so much work to do, with a limited budget. Our goal is to help out as many affected property owners as we can, while protecting the creeks that flow into the Russian River. Please contact Birkin if you’re in the Glass Fire zone and could use our help.