More dead trees are about to be removed from the Park Fire burn scar in Upper Bidwell Park. Chico city officials say 125 trees are set to be removed from Ten Mile House Road.
"It's the final piece of the puzzle, I like to say, to getting everything open completely," said Shane Romain, parks and natural resources manager of the City of Chico.
After the trees are removed, closed trails like Yahi and Annie Bidwell will reopen to the public.
The area around Ten Mile House Road has a steep incline, which makes it difficult to remove trees. Large trees will be felled and positioned so they won't roll downhill. Smaller trees will be turned into chips and spread on site.
The city’s Urban Forest Manager, Richie Bamlet, said one of the benefits of chipping is it helps with erosion and soil stabilization efforts.
"Wood chips will help absorb rain water, and as they break down, it will help restore nutrients to the ground as well," Bamlet said.
City officials have been determining which trees might survive, and which need to be removed. Over 700 trees were removed from Upper Bidwell Park during earlier stages of the cleanup process.
The main focus is to remove trees that pose a threat to roads and hikers. After this round of tree removal is finished, the city will keep an eye out for further hazardous trees, but doesn't plan on any more large-scale removal projects. Future removals would only involve trees along trails or roadways that could impair emergency vehicles or threaten hikers.
"Other than that … trees in the wildland areas are going to remain there,” Romain said. “They're important habitat for a variety of wildlife, particularly birds. They use those snags for resting and potential nesting habitat."
City officials say residents can call public works to report any further hazardous trees in the park.