Volunteers Clear Santa Cruz Forest After 86,000-Acre Fire

After watching 97% of Big Basin Redwoods State Park burn in 2020, volunteers are making sure the next wildfire doesn't finish the job.

Every Friday, a dedicated team led by the Sempervirens Fund works alongside California State Parks to clear downed limbs, overgrown vegetation, and other flammable materials from the ancient forest floor. They gather the debris into piles that will later be safely removed through controlled burns.

"When you go into a redwood forest, you realize you are in a special place," says David Cowman from the Sempervirens Fund. That emotional connection is what drives volunteers to spend their days doing dirty, tedious work that might save the park.

The 2020 CZU Fire changed everything about how California manages its forests. That blaze consumed over 86,000 acres across the Santa Cruz Mountains, leaving burn scars that remain visible four years later.

"The CZU Fire was a real wake-up call for land managers across the Santa Cruz Mountains," Cowman explains. The painful lesson transformed fire management from reactive to proactive across the region.

The Ripple Effect

This shift in thinking extends far beyond Big Basin. Forest managers throughout California are adopting similar fuel reduction strategies, learning from the near-total loss of one of the state's most treasured parks.

Every branch removed and every pile built by volunteers protects not just trees, but the future generations who will walk among these ancient giants. The work creates a model other communities can follow to protect their own natural treasures.

Forest managers know another wildfire will come to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Thanks to volunteers preparing the forest now, Big Basin will be ready when it does.