Springing Forth from the Ashes

Efforts are underway to help Californians replant following severe wildfires

After an unprecedented wildfire season in 2018 that burned through 1.8 million acres of forestland, area landowners were left with barren ground that was once lush with trees. Facing that level of devastation was difficult, and many didn’t know how they were going to replant. It was emotionally and financially overwhelming.

But for landowners like Susie Heffernan, replanting was critical. “I knew if I didn't get trees back in the ground, sooner than later, we'd be affecting the watershed for Concow basin. We'd be affecting soil erosion, all kinds of things,” she said.

To help Susie and others just like her, the Arbor Day Foundation partnered with American Forests Foundation to work with individuals who lost significant numbers of trees to the fire. Support from Foundation members, corporate partners, and the #TeamTrees campaign have made it possible to fund the planting of 2 million trees to revive this fire-ravaged landscape. “It was just incredible because it's kind of the first thing you need to do to restore everything post-fire, but the last thing most of us can really usually afford without assistance,” said Susie.

This forest restoration work was scheduled to begin in March of 2020, and thankfully, the State of California classified tree planting as essential. So small groups of professional tree planters were allowed to continue this critical work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. (Fortunately, social distancing isn’t hard when replanting forests!)

In a time of recovering from crisis, trees can serve as a beacon of hope when people need it most. “It's made an enormous impact here on our small community, and so I can just imagine what you're doing around the country,” said Susie. “We can't thank you enough.”