Crews work to prevent debris from washing down five creeks after the Carr Fire
Damon Arthur
A crew was out this week spreading grass seed and straw on hillsides in west Redding to prevent erosion where the Carr Fire burned last summer.
So far the California Conservation Corps crew has finished spreading erosion control on about 20 acres out of a planned 1,640 acres where work is planned.
Bryan Smith, a supervising engineer with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the crews will be spreading straw and seed on five key creeks the agency identified as most at risk of carrying erosion from hillsides left barren of vegetation after the Carr Fire.
While soil runoff from rain that turns creeks brown is normal during the winter, this year could be worse because the fire killed off plants that hold soil in place over thousands of acres.
"We expect this will be significantly worse than normal turbidity events," Smith said.
State officials said it wouldn't be practical to install erosion control over the entire 229,651-acre Carr Fire burn area, so they had to limit their work to streams where they needed to protect drinking water sources from becoming too thick with ash, silt and other debris washed off hillsides.
The state is focusing on the following creeks:
- Rock
- Middle
- Salt
- Jenny
- Carter
Those streams were also chosen because they are used for spawning by endangered chinook salmon. A heavy dose of silt and debris could harm spawning nests and possibly kill salmon eggs, state officials have said.
Much of the erosion control work is being done on private property between Redding and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Smith said.
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The Regional Water Quality Control Board received $8.7 million in federal and state grants to pay for the erosion control work.
To do work on private property, state officials have to get written permission from property owners, he said. So far, the state has permission to work on 1,100 acres of the 1,640 acres they want to treat, Smith said.
Since many people were burned out of their homes and have new addresses, it has been difficult to reach some of the people who own property where the state wants to do erosion control, said Sarah Seiler, a project coordinator for the Western Shasta Resource Conservation District, which is overseeing the erosion control work.
She said the district still hasn't been able to reach many of the property owners where erosion control work needs to be done.
If property owners aren't sure their property is included in the area where the state is installing erosion control, they can call the conservation district at 530-776-5144 or send an email to CarrFire@westernshastarcd.org.
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The erosion control materials and labor are free to those property owners specifically identified by state officials, Seiler said.
This week, a CCC crew was working along Carter Creek, which is southwest of Quartz Hill Road and flows into the Sacramento River in the Lake Redding Estates neighborhood.
After the crew finishes Carter Creek, they will move on to Middle Creek, farther west of Redding, Seiler said.
In areas with gentle and moderately steep slopes the crews are spreading native grass seed, organic fertilizers and fungus that promotes plant growth, Seiler said. On steeper slopes, crews are spreading just straw to break up the impact of rain, she said.
Seiler said the project should take about three years to complete.
The city of Redding is also doing erosion control work along along the Sacramento River Trail. The city is covering about 31 acres along the trail, 25 feet on either side of the trail, said Chuck Aukland, Redding's public works director.
The city is also doing work along trails on the west side of town near the Mary Lake subdivision, he said.
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