Beating a Fire Before It Begins

As fire roared through brush-covered hills near the North County community of Rainbow last week, it reduced 3,000 acres to ash, destroyed one home in Riverside County, and forced a temporary evacuation of about 40 residents.

The next day, about 30 miles south, fire raced through San Diego’s Los Penasquitos Canyon Reserve, charring 600 acres and threatening a newly opened subdivision in Mira Mesa.

Once again, an extended spell of extremely hot, dry Southern California weather had taken its toll, turning canyons and hillsides of dense vegetation into tons of brittle, explosive fuel. A spark was all that was needed--in both cases from an arsonist--to set off the fire’s ravenous appetite.

But damage at both locations could have been much worse.

Because precautions had been taken that slowed the fire and helped keep it at a distance--by Rainbow residents and the Mira Mesa subdivision’s developer--firefighters were able to save homes and other valuable property.

With much of North County’s new development pushing into previously open areas, fire officials say property owners should be increasingly aware that they need to start fighting potentially devastating fires long before a flame is ever struck.

Rainbow Fire Chief Fred Buck said one of the main reasons firefighters were able to keep property losses to a minimum was that homeowners kept brush and other volatile vegetation well away from buildings--at least 30 feet as fire officials recommend.

“Almost everybody has adequate clearance,” Buck said. “Generally speaking, I think that’s true of all the houses around here.”

Tom Morris, a San Diego Fire Department spokesman, credited the clearing of brush with saving several of the newly constructed Mira Mesa residences.

“That made our job a lot easier,” he said. “It reduced the damage quite a bit . . . . Keeping that fuel away from your house is the surest way of keeping your house intact.”

The houses in the Rainbow community are in wild-land areas controlled by state fire ordinances. Each year, Buck said, local inspectors from the California Department of Forestry and the North County Fire Protection District check on areas that pose potential hazards and cite property owners who fail to clear away dangerous growth.

In North County’s more urbanized areas, however, local fire departments are responsible for inspecting possible trouble areas.

Stephen Marvin, administrative deputy for the Encinitas Fire Protection District, said that as development has moved inland in recent years, the threat of property-damaging brush fires has increased. But homeowners in such areas can greatly lessen the chances of catastrophe striking “by doing a few very minimal things,” Marvin said.

Some of the most devastating fires in California that have claimed hundreds of homes, cost billions of dollars and taken dozens of lives in the last 30 years have been followed by reports that the damage could have been limited by simple, preventive measures.

After the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, the 1990 Santa Barbara fire and the 1985 Normal Heights fire in San Diego, for example, local governments instituted programs to clear away dense, dry vegetation from hillsides abutting residential areas and to restrict the use of wood shake shingles on roofs, both of which were factors cited for the rapid spread of all three blazes.

Assessing the hazards to a property is easy enough. All it takes is a quick survey either by the homeowner or by fire department officials who in many areas will visit a residence to size up unsafe conditions. One of the keys is to clear away natural grasses, weeds and brush, some of which in Southern California is filled with creosote, a highly flammable substance.

“Natural landscaping is very nice, and we’re not saying you need to take every single bush out, but leave spaces,” Marvin said. “Clean up all the debris under the bush so that the fire cannot just commute along all the dead leaves and branches. Get rid of all the real dense brush.

“We’ve seen more and more of the homes protected by ivy and things,” Marvin said. “The dense green, while it may smolder, gives us a chance to stop the fire.”

Installing fire-resistant, or succulent, plants around a property is relatively cheap. And there are numerous varieties, from ground covers to bushes to vines.

One of the least expensive but most effective is the ground cover commonly referred to as ice plant, which grows easily and requires limited watering. A flat at local nurseries will usually cost around $8 and can cover about 50 square feet.

“Ice plants are probably the best,” Marvin said. “They have so much liquid in them that they will practically stop a fire.”

When planting trees or large shrubs, they should be placed at least 18 feet apart. Avoid pines, eucalyptus and other varieties that are high in oil content. Be sure to prune dead limbs and low branches.

In many California fires, numerous homes have been lost from the top down--when wind-whipped embers ignited wood-shingled rooftops.

Fire officials strongly encourage homeowners to replace untreated wood shingles with others of more fire retardant materials. Most municipalities in North County forbid the use of untreated wood shingles in new construction. Treated varieties are allowed in many areas, however. And, roofers can apply a fire retardant to protect homes with existing wood coverings.

A wide range of roofing materials suitable for different types of homes are available. A reputable roofer can explain your options.

Care should be taken in other areas around the home, too. The underside of decks, particularly in wild-land areas, should either be enclosed with a non-flammable solid skirt, such as concrete block, gypsum board or stucco, or built with oversized timbers. On the top side, non-flammable brick, tile or concrete is safest. If using wood, it should be over-scaled, such as 1 1/2-inch-thick tongue-and-groove board over a solid sub-decking.

Other precautions to take are mainly matters of common sense. If your home is in an area where a lot of brush fires occur, for instance, don’t have wood piles stacked next to the house. Areas under the wide eaves on ranch houses, especially, should be kept clear because the eaves tend to trap heat. Also remember to maintain access room on all sides of the house to allow firefighters to bring in hoses, ladders and other equipment.

While some of the measures may require some investment in time and money, “If you live in a high-hazard area, everything you do is going to reflect favorably on your insurance,” Marvin said.

The reason insurance companies look favorably upon customers who take those precautions is that the odds become much higher that the house can be protected from flames.

When a brush fire is raging, Marvin said, “We protect the homes as best we can. But those homes that have the fire-resistant plantings, treated roofs and such things . . . those are the ones we save.”

What if the unfortunate occurs and a brush fire is threatening? Again, fire officials say preparation is important.

Have a “getaway bag” ready for prized possessions such as photographs and heirlooms, in case a fast departure is necessary. Give family members assigned duties on what items to gather and load into the car.

Draw all the blinds and curtains, which will help keep heat from entering the house. If fire is close by, take away lawn furniture that can catch fire in the yard and blow around.

“The big thing is, if you’re told to leave your house, leave your house,” Marvin said. “The worst part we have is stragglers. In the Oakland fire, the people who insisted on staying were the people who lost their lives.”

Often, as flames are approaching, homeowners will turn on lawn sprinklers or hoses to slow the advance. While such efforts can’t hurt, they are sometimes of dubious impact, Marvin said.

“Everybody turning on their lawn sprinklers and things will just deplete the water supply,” he said. “And once we start pumping from a fire hydrant you’re going to lose all your water pressure anyway.”

Many homeowners in high-risk areas have installed sprinklers on their roofs, which are a good first aid when fire is approaching, Marvin said. But the drawback is that someone has to be home at the time to turn them on.

Landscape contractor Thomas Maxwell-Miller said the number of calls from homeowners seeking to install fire-preventive landscaping and sprinkler systems has dwindled at his business in recent years. It’s been a change from immediately after the Normal Heights fire, when people concerned for the safety of their properties were calling all the time.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t think about it until it’s too late,” he said.

Maxwell-Miller, who sits on the board of the California Landscape Contractors Assn., said a reputable contractor can advise a client on what areas of natural growth to clear or replace. He said he does almost all such work now with developers as they construct new housing tracts.

Over the years, Maxwell-Miller has also worked with homeowners in back country areas to plumb their swimming pools for fire fighting when their residences have been out of reach of municipal hydrants. A pipe is run from the pool and water is pumped to a hydrant, usually near the road, so firefighters can hook up their hoses.

Such arrangements often are necessary because swimming pools can be in awkward locations for a fire engine to reach.

An average swimming pool holds about 15,000 gallons. “That’s significant water,” Marvin said.

Fire departments assigned to protect rural areas record on maps those houses that have their own pool-connected hydrants.

“It’s good planning that can save your home,” Marvin said. “And very frankly, it’ll save your neighbor’s home, too. It’ll help your community.”