Eucalyptus tree removal pilot program aides in fire prevention
A new pilot program is taking aim at the invasive eucalyptus trees within Monterey County.
The reason for the tree being in the crosshairs is due to their high fire risks. Most trees inhabit areas near Aromas, Watsonville and Prunedale that are considered high or very high risk zones due to vegetation in the area.
"Any tree, any vegetation, any plant with the right amount of fire and heat will combust. Eucalyptus trees like other plants like pine trees for example are very oily so they have a quick flammability rate," CAL FIRE Firefighter & Forest Technician Luis Perez said.
County and State officials took a look at some properties that are a part of the new pilot program.
Funded by a $1 million grant from California's Office of Emergency Services, the program aims to help make the livelihoods of owners easier when it comes to fire prevention.
“They helping us, you know, to be prevented of these kinds of things like fire issues, weather issues...to prevent like losing crops because crops as really important for our family for our food,” Owner of the Queen of Vegetables Yadria Mendiola said.
Madiola's property is one of the many sites that will have protection from the worldwide nuisance.
“There's a lot they've been spread from Australia to Europe to here to all around the world. And a lot of places are trying to get rid of them because they're very difficult to get rid of once they start to grow," County of Monterey District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church said.
Church, along with California State Senator John Liard, spearheaded the project to tackle the trees. Residents have also taken notice of the trees.
"We've seen in a lot of communities like Aromas for example where people have taken matters into their own hands," Perez said. "I've seen first hand how homeowners have cleared around their homes. We want to live in beautiful areas around plants. I feel this is a joint effort."
It's one step in a direction to prevent fires from taking away what people love.
“Anybody who's who's living in an area that's fire vulnerable, you're going to be concerned because you lose your home. You don't just lose a place to live. You've lost everything in that home," Supervisor Church said.
Applications for the project from property owners occurred between July to August of this year.
Supervisor Church hopes that the program will garner more funding in the future to remove eucalyptus beyond the current sites.
