Fire Inspections Due in Many Valley Areas

Valley residents in the mountain fire district and the fire buffer zones began receiving notices this week that their property will be inspected beginning May 2 for vegetation that could burn easily in a fire.

Fifty-two firefighters on the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Brush Task Force will conduct the annual inspections through June, at which point local fire departments will take over. Inspections continue through December.

Residents in affected areas are required to remove all hazardous native brush, weeds, grass and vegetation including dead trees.

Areas to be inspected include parts of Woodland Hills, Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Encino and Tarzana in the West Valley, and Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Sylmar.

The Fire Department’s Brush Clearance Unit publishes a list of fire retardant and erosion control plants. Local nurseries also have that information, a department representative said.