The Continued Effects of the Creek Fire

The Creek Fire started near Shaver Lake on Sept. 4, 2020 and continued to grow until it reached nearly 400,000 acres. To put that into perspective, the fire was nearly 625 square miles.

Firefighters from all over California and surrounding states joined together to fight the quickly growing fire. For these firefighters, the pressure was on to save the mountains that surround the Central Valley.

“This is my hometown so, when you’re a firefighter and you’re working in your backyard, it’s a little bit more personal attachment,” said firefighter Nick Batrich. “You know you want to work just as hard as you would anywhere else to try to do everything you can to save your property.”

The fire was not considered fully contained until Dec. 24, 2020, more than three months after it began. Months later, we are still seeing many changes resulting from the fire.

“My cabin made it. It’s absolutely amazing how it made it because if you look at all the trees around there, when you touch it it’s just burnt ash. The trees are all burnt and just gone,” said resident Prudy Rivera.

The town of Shaver is back open and snow now fills the town. The fire left some behind some effects, like sliding rocks and landslides. Rocks that were once rooted in the ground were dislodged in the fire and there is concern that they could go rolling down hillsides.

Additionally, the agriculture and vegetation that once filled the mountainsides are burned. This increases the potential for landslides, especially with snow on the ground. The snow makes the ground underneath even softer.