How would your community work toward restoring the local ecosystem following a natural disaster? The terrible wildfires in the western part of the United States are the latest example of why this question remains top-of-mind for community leaders. Communities continue to face devastating loss at the hands of wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and many other natural disasters.
The Community Tree Recovery Program was set up to play an important role in the process of helping communities rebuild following natural disasters. We are currently working on recovery projects in twelve different states. One of these projects is in need of immediate assistance because of timeliness and severity.
The news has been filled with reports of the many uncontained wildfires out west. And with good reason, many of these fires are the worst in decades. Washington is experiencing the worst wildfire in state history, the Okanogan Complex Fire. This comes on the heels of the Carlton Complex Fire – the previous worst wildfire in state history – which happened just last year.
As the courageous firefighters battling these blazes and work to contain them, we need to begin the planning process for helping communities recover. Humanitarian needs will be priority one. But once those needs have been met, we will begin the process of distributing trees to organizations and residents in these areas. Help these communities replant trees lost to wildfire.
