SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego could see record-breaking heat over the next few days, and fire officials say now is the time to start clearing fire fuel around your home.
But if you live near public land that's city, stat, or park land, trimming vegetation yourself is prohibited.
This was the dilemma one woman named Barbara had during the recent Meadow Lark Fire this past Sunday. Our crew met up with her as fire personnel were trying to put out burning brush in the Birdland Canyon. She cleared what she could in her home, but she lives on the brink of a canyon that's a conservancy, so she wasn't allowed to cut the brush down there. By then it was already too late, and the fire came within feet of her home.
"So this was really scary and it was fast," Barbara said.
"I hope there's not a next time. I had already decided I was going to try to contact the conservancy to see if they would trim up brush once my plants," Barbara said.
In California, property owners are generally required to clear up to 100 feet of vegetation around their homes. But that responsibility usually stops at the property line. And the most crucial area is the one closest to your home.
"With this new zone zero, what we're realizing is after all these fires, what has been causing these homes to burn and what the research is showing is that these first 5 feet," a Cal Fire official said.
If your home borders public land — either city, state, or park land — different agencies can be involved, making the red tape around trimming brush hard to untangle.
I reached out to State Parks for answers and they said they do fuel reduction treatments around Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve for free because of grant funding. But in other areas, State Parks will work with property owners to get a permit that costs $150 to clear an area that they deem appropriate — meaning if they think it could pose a fire risk.
With hotter, drier conditions increasing fire risk across the region, officials say taking those preventive steps now can make a big difference during wildfire season.
