Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Residents near Corner Canyon in Draper had to deal with a lot of noise today from helicopters, which were doing an operation designed to save hundreds of homes.
They were dropping wood straw all along the mountain slopes. A wildfire burned there this past summer, leaving behind a lot of loose soil. The U.S. Forest Service was worried if that spot got a lot of rain or water runoff after the winter, mud could flow to houses below.
The operation started with 18-wheelers, then workers, forklifts and finally helicopters.
Paul Flood with the U.S. Forest Service said, "If it rains really hard on this straw, it tends to absorb a lot of the water and nothing runs off."
Flood gave us a scientific demonstration to explain why wood straw was being dumped in Corner Canyon, where a wildfire burned this past August. First, he showed us what water would do in this loose soil. "Look at that water running right off," he said.
Then, he showed us what water would do with wood straw in the way. "Notice at the bottom here, there is no water coming off that at all," he pointed out.
That's the idea behind this operation. Just below the mountain slope is a bunch of Draper neighborhoods. The forest service is worried about what would happen to those homes if a lot of rain fell, thus the wood straw.
Cory Pond with Mountain West Helicopters said, "(It) will help the erosion control and help the vegetation grow back quicker."
To make vegetation grow even quicker, volunteers planted grass seed in burned areas. Draper resident Fred Leslie said, "It's extremely important. If we don't care for it, we're going to lose it."
The true test for this wood straw and the operation will come after this winter, when the spring runoff starts coming down the mountain.
Paul Flood said, "If it's left barren, we'll get a lot of erosion movement from a rainstorm."
So, in this case, it's better to try something than nothing. "It's really important for us to get something on top of the bare soil," Flood said.
The operation is expected to continue for a few more days. During that time, nearby trails are closed to hikers and mountain bikers.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
