As several fixed-wing aircraft lifted off the runway at the Santa Barbara Airport on Tuesday, county efforts began to hydromulch 1,050 acres affected by the Jesusita Fire.
The mulch is applied to stabilize the denuded areas and will help prevent erosion. The planes will be making drops for the next three weeks, including on weekends.
Tunnel Trail and the Tunnel Connector are closed until further notice during the hydromulching. The Jesusita and Rattlesnake trails also closed as of Monday.
Tom Fayram, deputy director of the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department, spoke with the media Tuesday about the flood-control efforts.
While the hydromulch is in place, Fayram said people shouldn’t walk or bike the trails, and that it could be dangerous to be in the area should hard rains begin to fall. Walking the trails could limit the effectiveness of hydromulching efforts, further damaging the area, he said.
The efforts are similar to the hydromulching operation after last year’s Gap Fire. However, there were concerns about the hydromulch used in that operation after bits of plastic and debris were found in the mixture.
Fayram said the mixture used last year contained recycled materials. He said the county is using hydromulch made only of paper this year, and called it a “100 percent contaminant-free” mixture.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service will pay 75 percent of the $3.4 million cost, with $50,000 in cost-sharing from the city of Santa Barbara.
The county has been working on other flood-control strategies, including clearing stream beds and installing debris racks. All of the county’s flood-control efforts, including the hydromulching, are scheduled to be complete by the end of October.
Fayram said he hopes the city will see a rainy season similar to last year, where light rains didn’t overwhelm denuded fire areas above the city.
“We want rain,” he said, “we just don’t want a series of heavy storms.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.
