Residents in Hillside Areas Get Fire-Prevention Tips : Safety: Clearing brush and planting fire-resistant plants are recommended. Sierra Madre officials will begin inspecting 900 homes in high hazard spots.

After the wildfire in the fall of 1993 left Pat Greutert’s once lush garden blackened and charred, she methodically replaced certain plants with more fire-resistant species.

Out came the ivy, which had burned quickly during the blaze. Out came the sycamore tree, the branches of which had been hanging over the roof of her Mesaloa Lane home in Altadena. In went native plants and trees recommended by the fire department.

“My yard is much better than it was because I know a lot more than I used to about planting,” Greutert said.

Greutert knows she was lucky. The home in which she has lived for almost 30 years was not damaged in the Oct. 27, 1993, blaze that was started in the hills above Altadena by a homeless man who lit a fire to keep himself warm. More than 120 homes were destroyed, a swift reminder of the precarious nature of living in the foothills.

Around this time of year, fire officials start preparing for another season of potential wildfires. And although the officials say most residents of the fire-prone foothills understand the risks of living in those areas, only a relative few are following Greutert’s fire-prevention example. Instead, the officials have found that old practices remain hard to change.

“There’s a heightened awareness, but still a reluctance on the part of the average homeowner to clear brush and fuel back from his property,” said Rich Hawkins, fire management officer for the Arroyo Seco District of the Angeles National Forest.

Last year, Hawkins inspected about 100 homes; about 70 had complied with brush clearance requirements. That is a percentage consistent with previous years, he said. In the areas he inspects, those who do not comply face fines starting at $100.

The compliance rate is typically higher in areas where people have seen their neighbors’ homes destroyed by fire, Hawkins added.

Fire officials recommend that homeowners rid their homes of any possible fire fuel by trimming their trees and plants, clearing their property of overgrown brush and planting more fire-resistant and drought-tolerant plants, such as coastal live oak and western redbud trees, ice plant, cape weed, dwarf coyote bush, rock roses and others that have low oil content and are deep rooted.

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Sierra Madre fire officials will begin inspecting about 900 homes at the end of this month in the city’s high fire hazard area, said Rich Snyder, Sierra Madre fire inspector.

Inspectors will be checking to make sure native brush and other vegetation is cleared 30 feet from any house or structure and 10 feet from any roadway. They will check to see that roof gutters and eaves are cleaned of needles, leaves and twigs and that house numbers are posted clearly, among other things.

Fire officials say each year they brace for the worst possible fire season, but that it is difficult to predict what kind of season to expect.

Grass and chaparral, the weather and the number of accidental fires all determine whether the fire season will be a tough one, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. John P. Harris.

“In drought years, you don’t get enough grass growth to spread fire,” Harris said. “In wet years, lots of grass can mean a lot of grass fires.”

The most dangerous part of the year for wildfires is the late summer and early fall, when the brush is dry and the weather is hot. Strong winds, such as the Santa Anas, can interfere with electric poles and wires and cause hot sparks to drop down on the grass and ignite brush fires. And accidental fires that attract media attention may spark the interest of “firebugs,” who in turn start setting fires deliberately, Harris said.

He added that this year, he is especially concerned about the foothills above La Canada Flintridge.

“We’ve been worried about (that area) for years,” he said. Lots of timber, trees, wood-shingle-roofed houses and narrow streets factor into a great potential to lose a large number of homes, he said.

The main thing a homeowner can do to protect his and his neighbors’ property is to clear brush away, Harris said.

“When a wind-driven fire is approaching a community, there is no fire department that can provide service quickly enough to put a fire engine in every homeowner’s driveway,” he said. “It’s dependent on the homeowner to take necessary precautions to protect his own property.”