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SARATOGA SPRINGS — It has been two months since a devastating mudslide poured through a Saratoga Springs neighborhood. Work was underway Friday to repair the damage on the mountain caused this summer by the "Dump fire."
There are 55,000 pounds of seed being scattered on the burn scar to prevent erosion. This is the long-term solution to the effects of the Dump Fire. The threat of another mudslide is still very real, but by this time next year, the reseeding should begin to stabilize the mountain.
Until those plants take root, residents are keeping sandbags in place, fearing another slide is likely.
"The worry that this will happen again, going into early winter is present, there's more water on the way," said Greg Russon, a resident of Saratoga Springs.
The Division of Wildlife Resources is leading the effort not only to stabilize the soil, but to provide forage for wildlife — especially deer .
"A lot of grasses that will stay greener longer into the year, a little more spacing between the plants and the overall goal is to slow or stop fires," said Tyler Thompson with the Division of Wildlife Resources.
The seed mix is also designed to choke out cheat grass that can create explosive wildfire conditions.
"We really want to outcompete that cheat grass," Thompson said. It's a species that greens up early and dries out early and provides a lot of fuel for fires.
Related:
Flood victims frustrated over city's response to summer fire
Volunteers spent the day Tuesday moving sandbags on top of the muddy yards — a line a defense for houses already drenched in mud and debris.The reseeding is just the first step of a process that will take time, before the threat of another mudslide is gone.
"It will take a couple of years to really establish and provide enough vegetation to slow those floods down," Thompson said.
The crews will keep working through the weekend; they hope to finish up by Monday. It will then be up to nature to provide a wet spring, especially during May and June, to help the seed take root and start to grow.
