Project Report – CCC: Hard Corps

One of the primary purposes of the California Conservation Corps is to have hand crews available for rapid response to emergencies throughout the state. As the fall rains come, signaling the end of the disastrous 2017 fire season, we are reminded that natural disasters can occur at any time of the year in California. With the rains come the threat of flooding.

California Conservation Corps crews around the north state have begun flood response training. Seven crews involving about 100 Corpsmembers from Redding, Chico, and Yreka assembled at a Redding CalTrans maintenance yard on November 16 to learn the essentials of filling, moving, and laying sandbags. The crews rotated around five different work stations to lean each of five essential skills to flood fighting.

There is more to sandbagging than you might think. The sandbags must not be filled too much, or they will not fit together snugly to build waterproofs walls. It might look easy to carry one of these properly filled sandbags a few yards, but when the demand is for thousands of sandbags to be moved as quickly as possible, and over a twelve-hour shift in the rain and wind, there are proper techniques to learn which will prevent injuries and keep Corpsmembers going through those long hours.

Continue reading “Flood Fighters are Born” →

Last year, Redding Crew 22 began a three year project at Plumas-Eureka State Park to improve a trail around Madora Lake to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

Plumas-Eureka State Park is located in the northern Sierras, outside of the small town of Graeagle. A one-and-a-half mile trail circles the lake. It has always been a typical trail through the woods. It is narrow. It has rocky sections which can be treacherous to footing. Rebuilding the trail to ADA standards essentially means that when this project is finished, the trail will be wider, flatter, and smoother to allow access to people who would have been challenged to get out and see the lake on the old trail.

Last year, Crew 22 began the involved process of digging the old trail up, widening the tread, building causeway-like wall along the entire trail length, laying down a crushed rock base, covering the fill with suitable quality surface material, and tamping down to ensure a surface smooth enough to accommodate anybody who wants to get out on the trail and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.