Volunteers use shovels and Polymule carts to clear a stream bed.

70 Volunteers Tackle Airport Fire devastation in El Cariso, CA

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The Devastation

Following our donation to families affected by the LA Wildfires, we began to work with Team Rubicon on a relief project in the unincorporated village of El Cariso, in the hills above Lake Elsinore.

In the wake of the 2024 Airport Fire, the mountainsides above El Cariso were stripped of the vegetation that held topsoil in place. Subsequent rains caused severe flooding and erosion, filling a local stream bed with rocks, mud, and soil. With limited vegetation and no stream to re-route falling water, each new rainstorm was a flood event that forced water directly into yards and homes, burying properties under several feet of dirt.

Hilly landscape after a wild fire has burned all the vegetation.
Stripped Slopes

The Airport Fire stripped the surrounding mountains bare. Without roots to anchor the soil, rain triggered massive runoff that swept down into El Cariso below.

Burned-out car and debris in a desolate landscape with burnt trees and mountains in the background
Direct Impact

For homes in the fire’s direct path, the devastation was immediate and absolute, leaving behind nothing but charred rubble and debris.

House exterior with mud burying the porch.
Buried by Mud

Homes spared by the flames soon faced a second disaster. Rivers of displaced earth cascaded into yards, burying porches and blocking doors under feet of heavy mud.

Reshaped Landscape

The runoff ultimately reshaped the landscape. Stakes mark where a creek once flowed, its bed and a wooden footbridge now swallowed by dirt.

Because no heavy equipment was allowed in or along the creek beds, recovery relied entirely on human effort.

"We were going to have to say no to this project because we can't get heavy equipment in there," explained Kevin Kothlow, CA State Administrator for Team Rubicon. "The carts have helped immensely in getting everything cleared out."

Five Tons in One Day

Instead of walking away, 70 dedicated volunteers—including Team Rubicon, JustServe volunteers, and local missionaries from the California Riverside Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—rolled up their sleeves. Together, they dug out the stream bed, excavating up to six feet deep and six feet wide in some places. Polymule donated 40 carts to the effort, empowering the team to successfully remove over 5 tons of dirt in a single day. Following that project, Team Rubicon has used the carts to assist with fire cleanup efforts in Altadena, Mount Baldy, and at Team Rubicon’s own Forward Operating Bases.

The True Driving Force

While it's an honor to see our equipment assisting in the field, the real story isn't the carts—it's the people loading and pulling them. See how human power helped excavate 5 tons of dirt to protect local homes.

People working with Polymule carts to clear a dirt-filled creek bed
Volunteers working with shovels and Polymule carts to clear a creek bed
Volunteers working with Polymule carts to clear mud from a yard
Volunteers working with shovels and Polymule carts to clear mud from a yard
Volunteers use shovels to clear mud and dirt from a creek bed

In the News

Deseret News: See how a new disaster relief tool enables missionaries, other volunteers to help wildfire victims

See the Results

Dry creek bed dug out in a natural setting surrounded by trees
Open area with trees and a wooden fence in the background
Recently dug up dry creek bed with a wooden bridge in a wooded area
Buried wooden bridge in a wooded area