Thousands of dead trees will soon be removed in the Cambria area now that a grant has come through to help pay for it.
A grant for $498,000 is going to the San Luis Obispo County Fire Safe Council to remove the dead and dying Monterey Pines.
A bark beetle infestation, made worse by the ongoing drought and record heat, has killed roughly half the trees in the area.
The money comes from the a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Greenhouse Gas Reduction grant, funded through the state's Cap and Trade proceeds. It was administered through CAL FIRE.
"In order to sequester the carbon to slow decomposition and reduce greenhouse gas release cut trees will be made into long lasting consumer products, like lumber," the Fire Safe Council said in a statement. "Other uses will be for compost, shavings, chips, and biomass for electric generation. The grant also funds research in methods to restore this rare Monterey Pine forest to a healthy sustainable forest."
The county has also applied for an additional $1.3 million grant, which is still pending.