SALINAS — As Jake Larkin sees it, the River Fire in August 2020 and the massive debris flow in late January that crashed down from a canyon onto what is now his and his wife Jenna’s 21-acre property was a defining moment in their lives.
Most of the property was inundated with three feet of mud, rock, trees and even bones from animals caught in the debris flow. Torrential rains sent masses of earth down from adjacent hills that were laid bare from the summer fires — with no vegetation, there was nothing holding back the drenched topsoil.
At about 3 a.m. on Jan. 27 the flow crashed into a house belonging to the previous owners, one of whom suffered a broken arm and had to be pulled out of mud that was past her knees. Today, only a skeleton of the house remains. The Larkins had to gut the structure so they can begin to rebuild.
The land continues to go through a rebirth. The Larkins, including Jenna Larkin’s brother, Jason Montgomery, own the property. Jake Larkin still bulldozes 16 hours a day as he’s been doing for the past few months to move the debris from horse arenas, roads and even from barns and stables. A friend, Kyle Soliven, who now lives on the property and provides riding lessons for kids, is a partner in the massive cleanup.
Looking back now at the destruction, the Larkins, Soliven and Lori Tuttle and Emily Burton — who together operate the nonprofit Hope, Horses and Kids — all believe their paths are tied inextricably to the disaster six months ago.
“Ours was a vision that that has risen from the ashes of the River Fire,” Jake Larkin said.
Hope, Horses and Kids, whose stable of 11 horses are part of the equestrian center, provides what Tuttle calls safe and affordable equine-assisted learning. The concept is to provide people of all ages who live with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges to gather developmental and educational skills while building confidence through the “quiet strength of the horse,” she said.
All five converged when Soliven was coordinating animal rescues with the SPCA Monterey County and bringing some 350 animals ranging from horses to chickens out to the Marina Equestrian Center from the affected areas of the county. Soliven and Jenna Larkin have been friends for over a decade. All five of their individual journeys brought them to the equestrian center through a common love of horses.
Early Friday morning, the group sat around a picnic table while two of the center’s horses, Taz and Bam Bam, looked on. The friends talked about that early morning in January and the series of events that culminated with the five of them coming together at what is now the equestrian center. After a while, they got up and began walking the property, first to the south-southwest side closest to the canyon.
They laughed together, as friends do, but they also expressed the difficulty they had reliving that January morning. They passed by a three-foot diameter boulder that was swept up from the canyon more than a quarter-mile away and deposited on the property as if it were simply a piece of driftwood.
Soon they arrive at a five-foot fence, with half of it still buried in the dried debris. It wasn’t just organic matter that tumbled out of the hills. Any amount of trash is mingled with other pieces of debris, from tires and pieces of metal to tree stumps so big around a person would be hard-pressed to reach their arms around them.
It’s hard to fathom the magnitude of the debris flow now that life is slowly getting back to normal along River Road. But imagine a wall of debris moving at some 20 mph and massive enough to cover tractors and trucks at the mouth of the canyon.
But the many hours and days the friends are putting in is beginning to show. An arena has been bulldozed flat again and piles of sand are ready to be spread out for the soft turf the lessons will be held on. Fences around the stables have been replaced, and even portions of the stables themselves have been rebuilt. A barn has been cleaned up where debris rose up the doors of a pickup truck that had been parked inside prior to the flow.
They began walking north, down angle from the debris field and arrived upon a hill some 40 to 50 feet high that they walked to the top of. The hill hadn’t been there six months ago. Much of the land has an altered topography now. The hill is actually a pile, a pile of many tons of debris that have been pushed out of the working areas of the property.
Back at the stable by the picnic table, Jenna Larkin begins petting Taz and Bam Bam, who meander over to their friend as Jake Larkin and Soliven survey the property.
“It’s been a lot of labor,” Soliven said. “But it’s been a labor of love.”
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From a debris flow along River Road in Salinas, labors of love are underway - Monterey Herald
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