The wildfires that have choked the summer air with smoke the past few years have caught the attention of the Riverside School District, which is moving forward with a new forest management plan for the 97 acres of trees on the 186-acre school campus on U.S. Highway 2 at Deer Park Milan Road.
The forest has been getting hit by Western pine beetles, which are killing some trees, said lead groundskeeper Rob Foster. “You can get rid of them if you do it properly,” he said.
Drought has also compromised the trees, leaving them more susceptible to beetles and disease. The forest, which has many small trees crowded together, is a fire hazard the way it is now. “We are so overcrowded with trees,” he said. “If it goes, it’s going to take everything around us out.”