California's Ranch fire burned 459,123 acres; 8 years later, 71,000 seedlings have been planted

The recent planting drive marks only one stage in a restoration process that has taken years of planning. (DVIDS photo) Eight years after California's Ranch Fire destroyed vast stretches of forest, efforts to restore the landscape are now taking shape, Defence Visual Information Distribution Service reported. This spring, the US Forest Service, along with nonprofit organisations and volunteers, planted 71,000 conifer seedlings in just eight days across part of the burn scar in the Mendocino National Forest. The work took place east of the communities of Nice and Lucerne in north-central California.The effort is part of a long-term effort to restore areas damaged by the Ranch Fire, which was part of the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018. The fire burned 459,123 acres in 53 days, making it the largest wildfire in California's history at that time.Since then, local communities, forest managers and nonprofit groups have worked together to help the forest recover. The recent planting drive marks only one stage in a restoration process that has taken years of planning, preparation and field work.Preparing forest for new treesForest Service employees and local partners wanted to begin replan...