Now that the weather has shifted from Winter to Spring, we are starting to get phone calls and emails regarding our property and building. Methinks our life is about to kick into high gear.
We managed to finally complete the federal disaster aid application and get it submitted. What a pain that was, but it’s done, and the ball is rolling. We talked to an agent earlier in the week, and it looks like we’re in the system. I also spoke with a county representative who will work with us to rehabilitate our land since it’s apparently an essential part of the county watershed.
The resources we have available include a veteran’s volunteer organization. They are working on getting us donated materials to help us put our first building on the property—a storage shed. With that in mind, First Reader, her daughter, and I went up to decide where we want to put our new outbuilding.
Before the final cleanup to prepare for a new shed.
Then we bagged up the debris that was left.
Three hours later, we created five bags of debris.
The next step will be to get the pad prepared for the new structure. Since we had several sheds on the property before the fire, we’ve learned what needs to be done to prepare a spot. First, we need to measure the area for the foundation and stake it out. Because we aren’t laying a concrete pad, we’ll get landscaping timbers and gravel to do the job. One of our next steps is to rescue the metal stakes we used on the previous outbuildings. Many of those survived the fire.
We were pleased to see how green the burn area is getting. A lot of grass was beginning to grow where the fire ran through. We were concerned that the ash would create a barrier to the snowmelt and the rain absorbing into the ground and causing the water to slough off the surface. That was one scenario presented early in the recovery.
We will lose a lot of the trees that covered the north and east slopes. Not many of them have needles left, even at the crowns. Some burned only on one side. Others burned from the bottom up and left a tuft of green at the very top. Almost all of the ground cover was burned to the roots. Our view will be different from here on, but that’s expected after such a significant event. In time, we’ll replant more trees, and Mother Nature will take care of the rest.
The grass is beginning to grow back.
J.J. Shaun 