There’s no doubt that Mother Nature is fickle. Last year we were experiencing torrential rains, winds, and persistent storm conditions. For the first time in years we felt confident about our water supplies and experienced less fires around our county. Enter 1999. Little to no rain fall and predictions of a ferocious fire season. With the abundant growth resulting from last year’s wet weather, we could be facing a rough summer. If you live in a more rural area with lots of brush around, you need to take precautions to protect your home from fire. If you live in urban San Diego, you may want to adapt your landscape to be a little more drought resistant. In this issue we provide tips to do both.

General Fire Safety Tips.
If you were around for the Harmony Grove fire in 1996 you’ll know the best defense for your home is a fire-resistant roof. If you have a wood-shake roof you definitely should think about replacing it with a non-combustible material such as tile, fiber cement, clay or asphalt shingles. Other safety precautions you should consider:

• Cover your chimney outlet or flue with a spark arresting 1/2” screen.
• Stack your firewood at least 30 feet from any structure or combustible materials.
• Keep all needles and leaves cleaned out from the roof, eaves and rain gutters.
• Make sure your address is clearly visible for easy identification in an emergency.

Create a Defensible Landscape.
Strategically planning your landscape can go a long way in reducing the risk of a fire spreading to your property. These tips apply not only to rural properties in danger of wildfires, but to “city dwellers” as well. Keep some of these practices in mind when planning your landscape to protect you from the potential of a neighborhood fire spreading to your home.

• Maintain a defensible space around your home by clearing all flammable vegetation a minimum of 30 feet from your home.
• Keep trees farthest from your house, shrubs can be closer, with bedding plants, ground cover and lawns nearest.
• Space trees so they will be 10 feet apart when fully grown.
• Clear dead leaves and branches to maintain wide spacing between trees.
• Trim tree limbs within 10 feet of your chimney and trim all dead limbs overhanging your house or garage.
• Clear all vegetation and other flammable materials from beneath your deck.
• Enclose undersides of elevated decks with fire resistant materials.
• For mature trees, prune any branches within six feet of the ground to prevent ground fires from spreading to tree tops.
• Incorporate fire-resistant plants into your landscape to help prohibit the spreading of fires.

Many of us tend to have that “can’t happen to me” attitude and we don’t always take preventative measures when we should. The homeowners in Harmony Grove learned the hard way, let’s hope that we don’t have to!