The same beautiful hills and valleys of La Habra Heights that provide a picturesque setting for our homes also have a potential for catastrophic fire. Although one wit in the 1993 Powder Canyon process suggested bulldozing our hills as a solution to fire hazard, there are better solutions. We don't need to destroy our scenic beauty to protect it. Instead, we need to take responsibility for our own properties.
Landscape planning and maintenance in fire hazard areas are governed by a few simple rules. The Legal Notice of the Annual Weed Abatement Program states that each property owner should eliminate all fire hazards. In general, the specific rules are common sense ones and follow from two obvious goals: keep all combustible materials away from structures, and provide fire breaks.
Removal of all brush, weeds, and other highly flammable materials in a 30-foot ring around a structure clearly supports both goals. Further protection is added by planting fire resistant materials within this zone. Keep trees at least 10 feet away from chimneys and thin and remove dead or overhanging branches annually.
The second major component for fire prevention is to provide fire breaks. When a fire gets started, the oxygen consumption and heat create superheated winds that can spread the fire faster than we can run. Large breaks in the fire's fuel sources are necessary to contain the fire to small areas. Our City's stringent standards call for a 200-foot wide zone around any structure. Remove highly flammable plants from this zone and use, if possible, fire resistant plantings. As a minimum, you must keep this zone free of all brush and weeds.
If a neighbor's garage is 25 feet from your back property line, you must keep your property within 200 feet of that garage clear of weeds and brush. Plant it instead with bougainvillea and plumbago, which will not only lessen the hazard but also provide scenic enhancement. These plants, when established, do not require excessive water.
The best fire breaks on a city-wide level are the roads. A 20-foot wide paved roadway provides a significant obstruction to the spread of fire. However, even 20 feet isn't sufficient on hillsides, especially if the frontage is choked with flammable weeds, brush, and overhanging trees. Plan for irrigation of plantings along all roadway frontage, and keep shrubs and trees well set back. The fire ordinances specify that you have no trees or shrubs within three feet of the edge of pavement and that you keep weeds and high-fuel-load brush cleared for at least 12 feet from the edge of any roadway.
The economic and lifestyle values of our properties are directly influenced
by the look of our lush hills. As with anything else of value, there is
a cost. In this case, the cost of prevention is extremely small when compared
with the cost of letting a fire get out of control.