City Awarded Brush Management Grant – Tierrasanta to Benefit

The city recently has been awarded a $2.36 million federal grant for 100 foot defensible space brush management to address high fire risk areas within the city. The city will contribute an additional $3.9 million from the city’s general fund. The 100 foot defensible space area is the area that is 100 feet from structures in all directions when the structures are adjacent to city or privately owned open spaces. Portions of defensible space on private property must be maintained by the property owners. The focus of the grant is to complete the city’s responsibility for the remaining100 foot defensible space from private property lines into the city canyons and open spaces. When a fire does occur, the reduction of fuel load in the 100 foot defensible space area will limit the size and intensity of a fire while decreasing the bombardment of embers and firebrands on homes and private properties. Appropriate fuels management reduces ignition and the transmission of fire from structures into the open space, as well as from open space into structures. It also provides firemen with extra time and safer access to a property when there is need to defend a property against fire. Fuel reduction becomes even more important when structures are adjacent to canyons as are many of our homes in Tierrasanta. Vegetation burns three times faster on a 25% slope and nine times faster on a 50% slope than on non sloped properties. A large number or Tierrasanta homes are adjacent to 50% open space slopes.

The city’s brush management task will be accomplished over the next two years starting in the July 2008 timeframe with the thinning 875 acres of the 100 foot defensible space sites per year. Because of the large number of high risk areas throughout the city, Tierrasanta may not be the first community to be addressed. Most areas targeted in Tierrasanta are those that fall outside the range of the national standard for fire response times, as defined from the nearest fire station (See http://campbellot.com/firesafe_tierrasanta articles/response_times/ /articles/response_times/ ), or are located on the steep canyon sides. Several areas are identified adjacent to the Murphy Canyon Family Housing near Santo road. The map shown in this article is the overall view of Tierrasanta’s brush management areas covered by the grant. There are 28 supplementary maps that focus in on the specific areas. These may be accessed on the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council web site at http://campbellot.com/firesafe_tierrasanta/.

Although many of the problem areas identified in the grant are the same as those targeted by Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council’s community Fire Wise Assessment process as high risk areas, a number of the assessed areas are not defined in grant. These areas are comprised primarily of the steep brushy, tree-lined areas next to ingress and egress roadways that cross the community’s canyons. Because these areas are adjacent to roads they are considered by the San Diego Fire and Rescue department as easily accessible and therefore not considered top priorities. However, California Department of Forestry and Fire protection (Cal Fire) notes that most of the fatalities of the Cedar Fire occurred on the roadways as people were attempting to escape. The Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council will continue to work with the city to address these non targeted areas.

Homeowners must continue with their efforts to maintain a fire wise home environment with attention to structures and their private property perimeter around their homes. For information covering the city brush management policy and landscape standards see the City Park and Recreation web site at 

http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/brush.shtml. Also see previously published Tierra Times articles covering structure and home perimeters at the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council web site.