Life After Death : Regrowth Softens Scars of Firestorm
The land around Jon Morris’ home has returned to life: poppies, irises, wildflowers and grasses bloom on once-blackened hillsides.
Four months ago, a firestorm passed by Morris’ home as it raced through the hills of Malibu and Calabasas.
As the flames bore down, Morris, a veteran of four other brush fires, stood his ground.
Armed with a garden hose, and with the assistance of Los Angeles Fire Department water-dropping helicopters, Morris was able to keep the fire away from his home--with only 10 feet to spare.
“The flames came in from the north and burned the trees in front of my house as well as some boxes that were in my truck,” Morris recalled recently. “But they didn’t reach the house.”
Morris said he believes his house in the 1400 block of Cold Canyon Road was spared because of his firefighting efforts, as well as the rooftop sprinklers he installed when he built the house two decades ago.
After the fire, with embers still smoldering, Morris and a gardening crew cleared charred debris from his one-acre property. A few weeks later, he began planting new flowers and grasses.
Morris plans to continue to rejuvenate the area by planting pines trees to replace the ones damaged by the blaze.
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