Corpsmembers Step Up to Protect Historic Gold Rush Town From Further Damage

Long gone are the fire trucks and hoses used to extinguish the TCU September Lightning Complex fire. The work, however, is far from over in keeping Tuolumne County communities safe from hazards. Yellow fire hoses have now been replaced by green tubes installed by the California Conservation Corps.

“The reason this is important is because there are a lot of open wells in this area and that causes a huge risk of groundwater getting contaminated, in addition to the surface water that is normally at risk,” said Corpsmember Cullen Van Zandt, 22, from Mission Viejo.

Van Zandt was among the 20-plus Corpsmembers from the CCC Delta Center in Stockton tasked with installing the watershed protection devices. The silt socks are filled with organic materials designed to filter out chemicals and hazards from water runoff in the wake of wildfires.

Corpsmembers assisted the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and California Water Boards before recent rains in the area. Over the course of three days two crews laid 12,475 linear feet of compost silt socks to protect the watershed.

The watershed protection assignment is one of the first for Damaris Hernandez, 25, of Lancaster who joined the CCC this summer. “I just wanted more experience, to be out more, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity,” she said as she described the work. “We are putting down the socks and putting down the sandbags to hold the socks,” she went on to say, emphasizing that the material needed to be firmly placed and tamped down.

It’s an, at times, arduous task moving from property to property as approximately 90% of Chinese Camp was destroyed by the lightning sparked fire. While the historic Gold Rush era town may never be the same, with so many historical buildings now turned to ash, Corpsmembers are working to keep the residents that remain safe from potential contaminants.