USDA Provides $150 Million for Wildfire Recovery Efforts in California

Contact: Marsha Gery, Public Affairs Director (530) 792-5604

SAN BERNARDINO, CA, Feb. 18, 2004 - Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced that $150 million will be provided to help southern California wildfire recovery efforts and to address the tree mortality emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. This funding is in addition to the more than $9 million for emergency environmental restoration work in southern California that the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided in November of 2003. The funds are being made available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service¹s Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP).

USDA/NRCS will continue to work in partnership with local, state and federal agencies to ensure public safety and to address restoration efforts on private lands.

"This is great news for our project sponsors and communities," said NRCS State Conservationist, Chuck Bell. "These funds will allow us to continue to provide the technical and financial assistance needed to help heal the watershed and prevent further loss of life and property."

The southern California fires burned 739,597 acres, took 22 human lives and cost more than $250 million to contain.

Numerous cities and urban communities have infrastructure --basins, waterways, culverts, roads, homes and businesses-- that are at significant risk from mud and debris flows expected from the burned areas. Many homes are located adjacent to steep burned hillsides with no cover. Existing debris basins may be overloaded from increased sediment and debris flows if significant rainfall occurs and several domestic water supply reservoirs are at risk from debris and sediment contamination.

Rehabilitation efforts will provide sound erosion control measures that are economically and environmentally defensible. EWP measures include reseeding burned areas, placing sediment traps on slopes, constructing trash racks to trap large rocks and boulders, enlarging existing debris basins to increase capacity, and placing sandbags and other barriers to protect property.

Information on NRCS wildfire recovery efforts can be found on the Web at http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov.

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