The fire, near Pollock Pines, burned 97,000 acres in September.
Eric Nicita with the Burn Area Emergency Response team says helicopters will drop straw on severely burned soil in hopes of preventing erosion and mudslides.
The steep slopes above 11 Pines Road in Rubicon Canyon are particularly dangerous.
“We’ve got about 1,000 acres of land above the road that we’re going to try to stabilize with straw. And that really does help reduce the accelerated runoff and accelerate sedimentation,” says Nicita.
The aerial mulching could take two weeks. Erosion in the area threatens roads, hydropower plants and rivers.
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