After years of heated debate among fire officials, scientists, and local advocates, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection New proposed landscaping rules released For fire-prone areas Friday, it outlined what residents can and can’t do within the first 5 feet of their homes.
Many of these proposed rules – designed to reduce the risk of home burning amid wildfires – have widespread support (or at least acceptance); However, the most controversial issue so far has been whether the state will allow healthy plants in this area.
Many fire officials and safety advocates have argued essentially that anything that can burn will burn and have supported the removal of anything capable of burning within 5 feet of homes from this area, known as “Zone Zero”. They point to devastating urban wildfires in recent years for moving faster.
Still, researchers who study the range of benefits shade and additional foliage can bring to neighborhoods – and local advocates who are concerned about the money and labor required to comply with regulations – have argued that this approach goes beyond what current science shows is effective. Instead, they have generally been in favor of allowing green, healthy plants within the area.
An attempt has been made to bridge the gap in the new draft rules. They outline more stringent requirements for removing all plants within a foot of the home and in a new “safety zone” within a larger buffer around potential weaknesses in the home’s wildfire armor, which also includes covering windows that can shatter in extreme heat and wooden decks that can easily burst in flames. Elsewhere, rules will allow residents to maintain some plants, although there are still significant restrictions.
Regulations generally do not require removal of healthy trees – instead, these trees are required to be pruned regularly.
Once the state adopts the final version of the rules, homeowners will have three years to remodel their landscaping and up to five years for major work, including removing all vegetation from the protection zone and updating combustible fences and sheds within 5 feet of the home. New constructions must comply immediately.
The rules only apply to areas with significant fire danger, including urban areas for which Cal Fire has determined the fire danger is “very high” and rural wildlands.
Board officers will remain meet in calabas Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m. to discuss the new proposal and hear from residents.
-
share via
Some L.A. residents are supporting a proposed fire-safety rule, called “Zone Zero,” that would require evacuation of flammable materials within the first five feet of homes. Others doubt its value.
Where is the safety zone?
The proposed safety zone, with strict requirements to remove all vegetation, would extend 1 foot beyond the exterior walls of the home.
In some areas highly vulnerable to wildfire, it has spread even further.
The protection zone covers any land below roofs. If the overhang extends by 3 feet, the safety zone in that area also increases by 3 feet. It extends 2 feet from any windows, doors and vents, as well as 5 feet from enclosed decks.
Which plants will be allowed in the security zone?
Generally, anything that can burn cannot be placed in the safety zone. This includes mulch, green grass, shrubs and flowers.
What plants will be allowed in the rest of Zone Zero?
Homeowners can keep grass (and other ground-covers like moss) in this area as long as it is cut no taller than 3 inches.
The rules also allow smaller plants — from begonias to succulents — up to 18 inches tall, as long as they are spaced apart in groups. Residents can also place potted plants below this height, as long as they are easily moveable.
What about fences, trees and gates?
Any sheds or other outbuildings will or will not require non-combustible exterior walls and roofs in Zone Zero – the safety zone.
Residents must replace the first five feet of any combustible fence or gate attached to their home with something made of non-combustible material, such as metal.
Trees will generally be allowed in Zone Zero. Homeowners must keep any branches one foot away from walls, five feet above the ceiling and 10 feet away from chimneys.
Residents must remove any branches from the bottom third of the tree (or up to 6 feet, whichever is shorter) to prevent ground fires from climbing into the canopy.
Some trees with trunks directly in front of the house in this 1-foot buffer or below the roof overhang may need to be removed – as keeping branches away from the house may prove difficult (or impossible).
However, the board stressed that it wants to avoid removing trees whenever possible and encouraged homeowners to work with their local fire department inspectors to find case-by-case solutions.
What’s new and what’s not
Some of the rules discussed in Zone Zero aren’t new – they’ve been on the books for years, categorized as requirements for Zone One, which generally extends up to 30 feet from the home with less strict rules, and Zone Two, which extends up to 100 feet from the home with the least strict rules.
For example, homeowners are already required to remove any dead or dying grass, plants and trees. They also have to remove leaves, twigs and needles from gutters, and they can no longer store firewood in the pile next to their home.
Residents are already required to keep grass shorter than 4 inches; Zone Zero reduces it by one inch.
