MALIBU LAKE, TOPANGA : Brush-Clearing Urged to Lower Fire Danger

With fire season here, residents of wilderness areas in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana mountains should clear flammable grasses and brush from around their homes, a fire prevention official said Friday.

Heavy rains during the past two years produced a massive growth of vegetation that can turn tinder-dry during the summer, said Capt. Joe Montoya of the Los Angeles County Fire Prevention Office. “In some places, the wild oats are growing 9 or 10 feet tall,” Montoya said. “There’s definitely a fire danger.”

Montoya said the fire hazard is especially great in areas such as Malibou Lake, where access for fire equipment is limited, and Topanga, which has not had a major blaze since the 1950s.

Residents of wilderness and other fire hazard areas should clear anything flammable, including dry grass and vegetation, wood piles and other items, from at least a 50-foot radius around their homes. Shingle roofs, wooden decks and other parts of houses that could catch fire also should be moved or replaced, Montoya said.

“What’s going to be the key is whether we get a lot of Santa Ana winds,” he said. “When the winds pick up, they can blow embers a mile or two in front of a fire, and it can burn for days.”