Controlled Burn Scheduled

November 9, 2010 (Pine Valley) -- Cal-Fire will be burning brush piles on the Corte Madera Ranch south of Pine Valley during the next two days. Smoke will be visible from through the eastern portions of San Diego County. Weather permitting, the burns will begin around 10 a.m. and should be completed by 2 p.m. both days as part of an ongoing vegetation management plan, said Nick Schuler, Cal-Fire battalion chief. Watch for updates with additional details at www.EastCountyMagazine.org.

Fire Officials Warn SD Residents To Prepare For Wildfires, Despite Recent Rainfall

By Susan Murphy

May 6, 2010

SAN DIEGO — As the temperature begins to rise in San Diego, so does the wildfire danger. After several years of drought, San Diego is soaking with relief, but fire officials are warning residents to prepare now because, once summer arrives, there will be more fuel to burn.

Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire Department, said the recent rainfall is good for moisturizing the vegetation, but it has also sprouted flammable grasses and weeds.
“When we don’t have rain, then there’s drought conditions and dryness. And as we’ve seen in the past, vegetation dries, it dies and becomes a fire hazard,” Luque explained.

Luque said there’s also high fire danger when we do have rain. “It causes grass to grow, vegetation to grow and becomes an additional fire hazard than what’s already there,” he said.

Luque said residents should prepare for wildfires now, before the Santa Ana winds return this summer and fall. He said homeowners should clear 100 feet of defensible space around their properties.

“There’s no amount of resources that are going to stop a fire like the Witch Fire of 2007 or the Cedar Fire of 2003. The best defense is prevention,” he said.

Rick Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute, said residents should think twice before clearing away native plants and shrubs when preparing for fire season. Halsey said when you pull out those native plants, it leaves more room for invasive and flammable weeds and grasses to sprout, “and that’s what creates timber box conditions,” warned Halsey.

“Once you improperly clear landscape, you cause non-native weeds to show up, which grow every year and they create an incredibly flammable fuel bed,” said Halsey. “So sometimes in the preparation to try to reduce fire risk, people actually increase it.”

Halsey says residents should prepare for wildfires by clearing away debris and furniture from their homes, including patio furniture, barbecues and wood piles.

For more information on wildfire preparedness, visit http://www.readyforwildfire.org/

Fire and Smoke Visable

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, in cooperation with CAL FIRE, will conduct a controlled burn on Middle Peak north of Cuyamaca Peak tomorrow (11/18/09). Because of the high location, the smoke and flames will be visible from many areas. Residents of Ramona, even though they are miles away, will have a clear view of the peak. The burn will begin about 9 a.m. and is scheduled to end by 4 p.m.. There are a lot of dead trees and brush in the area so the smoke may be visable for many days.  But there will be continued patrol of the fire area for a number of days after the burn.

What are Fire Resistant Plants

In the previous post I talked about Defensible Space, how large it should be etc. Now I want to talk about what fire resistant plants can be planted in that area. Generally you are looking for...

1. Plants that grow close to the gound.
2. They should have a low resin and/or sap content.
3. They should be drought tolerant
4. They should be easily maintained and not accumulate dead branches, leaves or needles.

Here is a link to the San Diego county website that has a list of plants to consider.

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/SuggestedPlants.pdf

Reverse 911 for your cell

A friend of mine was wondering about reverse 911. Your land line at the house is suppose to be automatically entered but if you want to enroll your cell or even email, here is the link.

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html

This could be very useful if you work outside of Jamul and want to know what is happening at home.

Fire Preparedness and You, Part 1

With yet another fire in Jamul this weekend it hammers home the fact that we need to be prepared. We were lucky that the fire was quickly contained to 10 acres but as we have seen in the past, we will not always be so lucky. We need to be prepared. I know we have heard this many times; defensible space, fire-resistant plants but what does this actually mean? Here is some useful information from the San Diego County website.

WHAT IS DEFENSIBLE SPACE?
Defensible Space is the area around a structure where combustible vegetation that can spread fire has been cleared, reduced or replaced. This space acts as a barrier between a structure and an advancing fire.

HOW LARGE SHOULD THE DEFENSIBLE SPACE BE?
You need to clear combustible vegetation in a 100-foot radius from any structure. Your local fire agency may require you to clear additional vegetation by a written letter. You are not required to cross your property line in order to clear the 100 feet. The neighboring property owner may be required to clear the additional distance by the fire agency.

HOW DO I MAINTAIN THE DEFENSIBLE SPACE?

•You may plant fire-resistant, irrigated landscaping in the first 50 feet of the 100 feet from your structure. These plants need to be maintained all year around. Note: no irrigated, or non-native landscaping is allowed within an open space easement.
•You need to keep natural vegetation in the remaining 50 feet of the 100 foot space. This would be the area furthest away from your structure. The plants need to be thinned and cut back to no more than 6 inches above the ground.
•You may need to do this several times a year since the plants grow back.
•Do not completely remove all vegetation which would leave the ground bare. Some vegetation is necessary to prevent erosion. When native vegetation is removed for fire control the bare soil is particularly vulnerable to soil erosion.
•Do not remove or disturb the existing plant root system to prevent any future erosion.
•Remove dead and dying vegetation.
•Trim trees that overhang or touch your structures.
•Properly irrigating plants will help prevent plants from igniting. Wildfires rarely occur until after June, because as little as 1 inch of water per month keeps drought adapted plants from readily burning. Permanent irrigation should be confined to landscaping within the first 50 feet of a structure.
•Trees and shrubs can be maintained by deep watering at least once a month for drought tolerant species and once a week for high water requiring plants.

For more information visit http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/fire_resistant.html