The main goal of this project was to prioritize areas of reforestation in San Diego County as a result of the 2003 California Wildfires.

These fires recieved a large amount of media attention because of their enourmous disruption to human lives across California. As a friend of treeplanters and with a family background in forestry, I became interested in what would happen regarding reforestation after the fires.

In British Columbia, foresters are required to replant trees in return for the ones that have been logged. With forest fires, different factors influence where, if any, reforestation is to occur. Forest fires do not operate with the same motivations as the forest industry and therefore losses in forests do not correspond.

As this project progressed, it became evident that reforestation would not be a main concern in this area, as it is mostly shrub vegetation. As a result, this project has been extended from reforestation to include the replanting of shrubs and plants important to the local ecosystem. It is assumed that these shrubs would not pioneer the burnt area quickley and would need to be planted by humans.

Many factors were taken into consideration to evaluate the area destroyed by the fires. Previous human development, including urban areas, roads, railways, parks, and agricultural areas, were taken into consideration for areas to be replanted. Water bodies and slope were also considered.