Sierra Lutheran students reseed fire area

Next spring, the hillside above Lakeview community in northwest Carson will likely be flush with flowers.

Right now, though, burned sagebrush pockmarks the once-healthy hillside, which attracted bear, mule deer and songbirds.

On Wednesday, more than 40 Sierra Lutheran High School students, from Minden, worked for five hours spreading flower seeds in a 30-acre area to help lure back the wildlife.

The project is sponsored by six Lakeview homeowners and the University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension.

"We used seeds mixed with cow manure and raked it over so it doesn't blow away," said ninth-grader Kia Missamore. "It's fun because you're with your friends."

"I didn't think the fire was (in) this area," said Missamore's friend, Kate Darby, also a ninth-grader. "I thought it was amazing the fire line came close to so many houses. I think the firemen did a great job."

Homeowner Mike Cox wants the reseeding to be complete before too much snow comes. The snow, which averages about 80 inches in the area, will freeze the seeds and prepare them for germination.

"When we get the vegetation back, that will keep the soil from moving, provide food for wildlife and keep the area beautiful," he said.

Iretta Marson, a homeowner in the area for the past 21Ú2 years is pleased the students are volunteering their time.

"You hear a lot of the bad things about kids," she said. "You never see this side of them. It's amazing they would come up here and seed my hillside."

She misses the rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife that used to visit.

"It kind of devastates me how this fire got started and how it got out of control," she said.

Marson is a neighbor of Cox, a wildlife biologist. Cox believes the balsam root, lupine, sagebrush and other plants and flowers being seeded this week will produce a hillside of color next year.

"My Christmas will be next spring," he said.

Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at mo'neill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.