Fire danger is real, and this is the season of fires in southern California. We had very heavy rain at the beginning of 2019 which always causes plants to grow grow grow! Following months of dry weather, very low humidity, and high Santa Ana winds. This produces extreme fire danger. As a business or homeowner, you may have responsibility to manage the brush around your property. LaBahn’s Landscaping are brush management experts. We were recently featured on the city of San Diego brush management video/website (which you can view below), and we can help you protect against the danger of fire. This is especially applicable if your home(s) or business are up against a canyon, but it is not limited to canyon locations.
The goal is to create 100 feet of defensible space that reduce fuel for fires, and allow fire fighting teams to work should they need to. The city of San Diego has identified two zones and the management of brush in these zones is different (click here to see their website for complete details).
Zone 1 starts from your home and extends 35′ and includes:
- trimming tree canopies
- removing dead wood
- cutting branches to a minimum of 10′ from structures and other trees
- removing leaves from the yard, roof, and rain gutters
- as well as removing combustible “fuel” from around the structure.
Zone 2 extends from 35′ to 100′ from the structure (home or business) and the management of plant material here includes:
- Removing dead material and thinning plant material seasonally
- Trim grass to a maximum of 2″ high
- Prune trees with a minimum clearance of 10′ between other trees and plant material while retaining a 50% canopy coverage
A recap:
- Remove all dead vegetation
- Thin living vegetation
- Prune remaining vegetation
There are more details, and some areas are more delicate than others (protected species, plant establishment periods, etc.). We can help you with your brush management plan! Contact us today.