California community share their thoughts on reforestation project
GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Cory Oden hadn't lived long in Grizzly Flats, saying he lived there for "11 months."
That is until the Caldor Fire changed his life forever. For the last year, he’s paid for rent and a mortgage for a home that doesn’t exist. The disabled veteran now lives in his RV.
"A lot of people come up and see the devastation. I still saw beauty in it. I know it will take a while for all the trees to come back but I still see beauty in it," Oden said.
He’s not the only one who still sees beauty in the ashes. So does The Sugar Pine Foundation.
"We all went through it. I had to evacuate too. It’s good to feel like you can give something back and do something," said Maria Mircheva of The Sugar Pine Foundation.
Offer emotional healing immediately
Drone footage shows where the reforestation project will plant 1,000 trees inside the Eldorado National Forest.
The year-old seedlings can take up to 75 years to mature, but the foundation believes the trees will offer emotional healing immediately.
It works worked closely with the forest following the Caldor Fire in 2021, which burned nearly 23,000 acres while destroying over 1,000 buildings.
"Many people within the forest service feel it is a critical step. It is an absolutely necessary step to re-establishing the conditions that I think the public really on their national forest," said Marc Young of the Eldorado National Forest.
Wanting the simple things in life
While people can appreciate this task, there are still homeowners who say they’re primarily angry at the U.S. Forest Service for not doing more to contain the inferno.
In the rebuilding process for communities, they feel abandoned.
Through a statement, an Eldorado National Forest spokesperson said, "After a major event be it fire, flood or significant damage it is the responsibility of the agency to restore access to the public lands."
The rest is left to communities. At this point, Oden just wants the simple things in life.
"All I want is my house. The security that I always had. I want a place I can lay my head, take a shower, go in the bathroom," Oden detailed.
