AHAH Monthly Program Update - California Wildfires (July 2021)

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE RELIEF UPDATE JULY 2021

TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT

9 4,393 28 519

FUEL BREAK ACRES CLEARED

VOLUNTEER HOURS

VOLUNTEER TRAINEES

HAZARD TREES FELLED

Current Activities We were pleased to welcome our second and final cohort of DM12 volunteers at the end of June. After successfully completing the classroom portion of our chainsaw training program, they have now started work in the field, while our construction team has been continuing work on our recovery pilot home rebuild.

We’re pleased to report that we are also in the process of transitioning back to Normal Operations! This means that from August 8, 2021, this program will be moving away from using our DM12 model and we are inviting people to join us to volunteer with no minimum time commitment. If you’re interested, please visit our website.

Project Spotlight - Tree Planting Thousands of acres of trees die after wildfires every year, and while our program aims to remove these hazardous, dead trees and push back against the ones right up on properties and town borders, we also want to promote regrowth in the areas impacted by wildfires. Trees provide shade, which keeps areas cooler and slows down the process of organic debris drying out (a key catalyst of wildfires). Trees also absorb carbon dioxide, provide oxygen for us to breath and are critical for erosion control after wildfires to stabilize the soil with their roots.

We're proud to work alongside STIHL in its effort to plant 2,021 trees to support the recovery of wildfire-damaged state parks in the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this month, our team planted 40 trees of various sizes at Collier Memorial State Park in Oregon and Lake Oroville State Recreation Area in California, and we look forward to continuing tree planting on a larger scale in the fall. Planting trees is an important first step to restoring and reopening these areas, and we're excited to be participating.

Photos: our team at the STIHL tree planting events.

Learn about our programs at

allhandsandhearts.org

Disaster Profile In California, where wildfire season (historically May through October) is a natural part of the landscape, the season has started earlier and finished later in recent years. The wildfires have increased in size eightfold since the 1970s, and the annual burned area has grown by nearly 500%. The climate crisis is considered one of the key drivers of this trend, with high temperatures and droughts causing dry vegetation and dead trees, which are more susceptible to severe wildfires. One of the deadliest and most damaging wildfires in California’s history was the 2018 Camp Fire, which incinerated the town of Paradise and swaths of surrounding foothill communities in a single day. Driven by winds, this wildfire continued to rage for two weeks and spread further into Butte County.

More than two years after the Camp Fire, only about 400 of the 14,000 homes destroyed have been rebuilt, and the community remains at risk from future wildfire destruction.

Our Work All Hands and Hearts launched a pilot wildfire program in Paradise in February 2021. Alongside local partners, our focus is on wildfire mitigation projects, such as creating fuel breaks by felling and removing trees for protection against future wildfires; and recovery activities, such as hazard tree removal on private properties to help homeowners prepare for rebuilding, as well as interior home repair. A core component of this program is our sawyer training curriculum, which is helping to build capacity in our organization by improving skill, safety and efficiency in chainsaw operations.

About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure.

We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the seventh year in a row. This year only seven percent of rated non-profits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency.

Photos: (top and middle) our team at the STIHL tree planting event in Oregon, (bottom) the exterior of our pilot home rebuild with HCRN.

Our Partners

info@allhandsandhearts.org