California’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has been helping landowners who are overwhelmed by tree mortality. Their small Mariposa partnership office was recognized in 2017 for their massive workload on the issue. District Conservationist Robyn Smith said their collective group serviced hundreds of contracts in the area to assist those landowners.
That work is now paying dividends in wildfire control. Landowners said firefighters have given them a thumbs-up when it comes to defensible space, and have been able to backfire safely from those properties to help control the Ferguson fire.