Mulch applied to the Gap Fire burn areas turns out to have contained “trace amounts” of recycled materials including plastic, rubber, paper, and foil. Santa Barbara County and the U.S. Forest Service, the agencies primarily involved in distributing the hydromulch over 1,500 acres of Los Padres National Forest in an effort to reduce mudslides, sent out statement assuring concerned citizens that future mulch would be meticulously inspected for non-natural materials.
