Posted by: SNO Staff September 2, 2022 0 267 Views

By Michele Nowak-Sharkey, UC Master Gardener, Mariposa County

MARIPOSA — Wildfire has entered our common vocabulary over the past 15+ years across California and Mariposa County.

From the Telegraph Fire in ’08 to the Washburn, Agua, and Oak Fires, Mariposa County has experienced unpredictable blazes, resulting in ash strewn hills of black and gray. In fire-burned areas, it looks as if it will always be this way.

And yet for landscape recovery after fire, “time heals all wounds. Nature heals. As stewards of the land where we have built our community, we can partner with nature to support healing of the places we love.

Over the next few weeks this series will offer suggestions about working with nature when fire has touched your land and how to help prevent fire spread if it happens again.

For some best practices in returning to and rehabilitating property after a fire, please visit mariposacounty.org/2644/Returning-After-the-Fire.

The following is adapted from the California Native Plant Society Fire Recovery Guide.

While you are mapping your strategy for rebuilding structures, create action items for rehabilitating the landscape section by section. It won’t happen all at once. As they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Wildfire recovery is a steady process of damage assessment, evaluation of new conditions and a plan of what to do next. Be gentle with yourself and know you have a wonderful partner in nature. If you are willing to listen and learn, nature will respond in kind. And as time heals, the black and gray of the landscape will soon be dotted with greens and browns once more.

Next: Scorched Earth – Soil Rx: Stopping Soil Erosion

UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County are located at 5009 Fairgrounds Road, Mariposa. For more gardening and event information, visit their website or Facebook page (UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County).

UC Master Gardeners staff a helpline serving Mariposa County, including Greeley Hill, Coulterville, and Lake Don Pedro. Please contact them at 209-966-7078 or via e-mail at mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu.

Listen to them on the radio at KRYZ 98.5 FM on Wednesdays at 2 p.m and Saturdays at 5 p.m.

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