Fire Hazard Reduction

By Thembi Borras

A reader writes "I am the owner of a 20 acre property in the Anderson Valley which has about seventeen acres of mixed second generation redwood, Doug fir, tanoak, bay, broadleaf maple, madrone, etc. My question is in regard to mitigating the effects of fire suppression. … what is the best way for me to reduce the fuel load in my woods while increasing the health of the ecosystem? I have no interest in a prescribed burn and I don't see that as a viable option. What are your thoughts?"

Reintroducing fire is not an option for many rural forest landowners, in large part, because of the unmitigated fuel load that has been allowed to build-up for the past 75 years. Treating this fuel load starts at the highest priority site, your home, with the most intense treatment. The balance of the property can be organized into concentric circles, with your home as the center, each warranting a lower priority and a less intense treatment.

The highest priority area is within 30' of your home. In this area, assuming you own the property, maintain a fire-break by removing and clearing away all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth. This will be tempered by your desire to landscape, so the key is to place or maintain single specimen trees, ornamental shrubbery or similar plants in your yard such that they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting a fire from the native growth to your home or outbuildings. Prune the lower branches of specimen trees as high as a pole saw can reach or within a minimum of 6 feet of the ground. Space trees and shrubs 10 feet apart. Choose landscaping that is fire resistant. Remove portions of trees that extend within 10' of the outlet of any chimney or stovepipe. Remove dead or dying wood from any tree adjacent to or overhanging any building. The roof is the most vulnerable part of your house, maintain the roof and gutters free of leaves needles or other dead vegetative growth. Stack firewood and locate propane tanks 30 feet from any structure and clear flammable vegetation that is within 10 feet. Don't forget it is very important to reduce the fire hazard around your access routes especially the roads over which emergency vehicles will travel.

The second highest priority area is between 30 and 100 feet. In this area, maintain fire protection by removing all brush, flammable vegetation or combustible growth, which includes cutting grass exceeding 18 inches in height. Grazing, mowing or raking grass to 4" or less changes the nature of the fuel from ladder to ground, which is good. Treat specimen trees as in the highest priority area.

The third highest priority area is between 100' and 400' and can be narrower depending on native vegetation and slope. Of particular importance is the downhill distance and direction of high winds. You are most susceptible to fire if you live on a ridge with a steep slope that drops away from your house in the direction from which high winds blow. The goal in this area is to thin overcrowded native plants, eliminate ladder fuels and remove any dead plants that will fuel fire. Eliminating ladder fuels means creating a break in the continuity of vegetation from the ground to the canopy of trees.

The fourth highest priority area is the balance of the property or the matrix in which I would suggest practicing good forestry which is multifaceted but may include the marking criteria described in the entry dated 10-16-05 entitled Marking to Improve Stand Structure. These activities will generate logs, which either can be used personally by the landowner or can be sold upon approval of a timber harvest document, which for small acreages may be cost prohibitive. An Emergency Notice for Fuel Hazard Reduction may be cost effective and if the project meets the criteria and is approved would allow the landowner to the sell logs from fire hazard reduction activities within the vicinity of their home.

If you decide to pile and burn the debris created from fire hazard reduction activities, see entry dated 10-30-05 entitled Safe Debris Burning. Other ways to treat the debris include chipping or if the area is more than 100' feet from a structure, lopping and scattering.

Resources at your disposal include the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, which can be contacted at firesafe@pacific.net or 462-3662, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Headquarters of which can be contacted at 459-7414 and your local fire departments. For additional guidance about how to make your home and immediate area more fire safe, go to www.firewise.org and click on resources. If you have time, consider joining your local fire department, there will be no better way to for you to learn about the emergency response infrastructure and what you can do to better protect your property from fire.