A few days ago, I noticed an artificial green coloring on some of the hillsides in the southeast portion of Griffith Park. I went out today to take some photos, but it seems that Friday night's heavy rains had washed away the obvious coloring.According to a story by KABC-TV's Sid Garcia,
Hydromulch is going to be spread over 480 acres of the burn area. The hope is that will be good enough to keep the hillsides from sliding when the rains finally do come.
It was last May when fire broke out, burning more than 1,000 acres or about 25 percent of Griffith Park. After the fire was put out, plans were developed to deal with the erosion hazards brought on by the fire.
It's called hydromulch. It's environmentally friendly and the city has tons of it ready to spread over nearly 500 acres of the burn area. Here's what the mulch is supposed to do.
"Essentially it puts a blanket over the soil and essentially what it does is it holds the sediment in place instead of washing it down off the hillsides. Not only will it help stabilize the slopes but it will help keep some of those native seeds that were probably still buried there that probably still survived the fire, and help them germinate when we do get some rain," Mike Shull, of the L.A. Recreation & Parks, said.
According to City Councilman Tom LaBonge, $2 million has been budgeted for this project. He says there will be some inconveniences to park visitors and area residents as helicopters and ground crews spread the mulch.
Recreation and Parks people don't want to see a repeat of the mudslide that occurred recently near Forest Lawn. That mudslide caused quite a mess.
The mulch will hopefully avoid this. So while the mulch is being spread, the burn area of Griffith Park is off limits to the general public.
"For the short term, it will be a little bit painful for us to not be able to hike in these areas, not be able to run and walk, and ride our horses, but for the long term it's well worth the wait to keep this area closed and it's for everyone's safety," Chief Albert Torres, of the L.A. Park Rangers, said.
