Firefighting Agencies Step Up Campaign
Promoting ‘Defensible Space’
• Malibu Property Owners Urged to View
Wildfire as a Year-Round Phenomenon
Now that wildfire is a year-round
phenomenon in California, and resources are
being utilized as never before, there is increased
emphasis on public preparedness for what is seen as the
inevitability of runaway conflagrations. The mantra for the
role of citizens in firefighting readiness is “defensible
space.”
The California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection is spearheading the defensible space
campaign, aided, even if the terminology differs, by county and
city agencies that stress that firefighters are impeded in
their efforts if property owners don’t fulfill their predetermined responsibilities.
CAL FIRE crews have already responded this
year to several wildfires statewide that have
destroyed homes. The heat wave two weeks ago has
exacerbated dry conditions locally.
Although the public may become inured
to annual public agency statements about being in ”the
worst fire season ever,” CAL FIRE and the Los Angeles
County Fire Department say residents should now keep a
100-foot zone of defensible space around their homes at
all times.
“The devastating Southern
California wildfires in 2007 highlighted the
importance for homeowners to prepare their homes for a
wildfire,” said Ruben Grijalva, the director of CAL FIRE.
“By simply removing dead
vegetation 100 feet from homes and following a few simple
steps, homeowners can drastically increase their
homes’ chance of surviving a wildfire.”
As Corral Fire burnouts were told last week
at a local meeting with top county fire officials, these
practices also make it more likely that firefighters can make
the kind of stand that saves homes.
This year’s fire season is arriving
after a wetter winter than 2007. The downside to what would
traditionally be good news is there is now more fuel to burn.
Add to that the National Weather
Service is predicting higher-than-normal temperatures from
May through September, just in time for the Santa Ana winds,
which have also been occurring on more of a year-round basis.
Fire experts stress that these winds will
be the key determinant of the severity of what is always the
potential for a catastrophic fire season in Malibu.
CAL FIRE is in the process of hiring about
2000 seasonal employees for the summer. The U.S. Forest
Service expects to have more than 4000 firefighters in the
state as well.
CAL FIRE has issued some
general tips to help make homes fire safe:
• Remove all flammable vegetation 30
feet from all structures.
• In an additional 70 feet create a
reduced fuel zone by spacing trees and plants apart from each
other.
• Clear all needles and leaves from
roofs, eaves and rain gutters.
• Trim branches six feet from the
ground.
• Remove branches 10 feet from all
chimneys.
• Use trimming, mowing and power
equipment before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m., not in the heat of
the day.
• Landscape with fire
resistant plants.
More information on defensible space and
other fire-preparedness tips is available at the CAL FIRE
website at www.fire.ca.gov.
