Brush Clearance Time is Back

With the beginning of another hot summer season around the corner, the Pasadena Fire Department has begun brush clearance inspections, which will continue through July 31.  Fire Chief Chad Augustin announced the start of the inspections during a press event at a home near the Pasadena foothills Friday.

“A working partnership between property owners, their neighbors, and the City of Pasadena is the best defense against disastrous fires,” he emphasized.

The City rolled out its annual Hazardous Vegetation Management Program on May 1. Residents living in the City’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone have received a letter and brochure in the mail outlining the requirements mandated by the State of California to keep themselves and their neighbors safe, said the Chief.

“It is vital that Pasadena residents and property owners remain vigilant against dry, poorly maintained vegetation which creates an extreme fire danger to homes,” the Chief continued.

According to Augustin, Pasadena’s Municipal Code Flammable Vegetation Ordinance is designed to minimize fire danger by controlling the density and location of flammable vegetation. The goals are to maintain trees and vegetation that beautify and benefit a property, and to remove hazardous vegetation that provides a volatile fuel supply for wildfires, he said.

Pasadena firefighters also demonstrated techniques for clearing brush away at the home, located in a hazardous fire area.

“Well-placed, well-maintained vegetation beautifies and helps control erosion in residential neighborhoods. Poorly maintained vegetation can be a volatile fuel for a fast-spreading wildfire,” said Chief Augustin, adding, “Preventing conditions where fire can travel from adjacent fuels is the key to creating defensible space and to help safeguard your family and home.”

Over the next three months, Pasadena Fire will inspect approximately 4,000 residential properties located within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

According to the chief, the Fire Hazard Severity Zones are based on an evaluation of fuels, topography, and fire history. This also includes dwelling density, weather, infrastructure, building materials, and brush clearance. The annual fire inspections are proscribed under California Fire Code and Pasadena’s Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance.

Chief Augustin also reminded property owners and residents that they can help protect their homes by partnering with their neighbors and the City to ensure compliance with the City’s Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance.

“The Pasadena Fire Department wants to work with you to create the most fire-safe community possible. Please join us by removing any dry, overgrown vegetation,” said the Chief.

“In general, we want a hundred feet of defensible space,” he explained. “It means that we want you to remove all your dead trees… anything that’s dead or dying.”

Local residents should ensure that ornamental vegetation is also well maintained and should create and maintain a defensible space around their properties.

“This program is designed to minimize fire danger by controlling the density and location of flammable vegetation,” the Chief added. “These  requirements are established to manage both fire and erosion hazards and to protect life and property.”

Pasadena Fire Department personnel will inspect affected properties at no cost to the homeowner if no violations are found during the initial inspections. If violations are found, a fee will also be waived if the property owner corrects the problem within 30 days. If violations are identified and not abated within the allotted time period, re-inspection fees will be charged, the Chief explained.

Owners of property on which a hazardous vegetation condition exists are required to correct the problem If a property owner does not comply with the ordinance, a contractor will be hired to complete the necessary work, the Chief explained.

Many insurance carriers will accept the City’s inspection report as proof of compliance which they may require to provide coverage.

According to the City’s City’s Hazardous Vegetation Ordinance, residents must remove all dead trees and keep grasses and weeds mowed within 100 feet of any building and within 10 feet of any roadway. Grasses and vegetation 30 feet away from structures may be maintained to less than 18 inches, and large trees and shrubs in that area should be 18 feet apart.

Residents must also remove leafy foliage, dead wood, combustible groundcover, twigs or branches within 3 feet of the ground from mature trees located within 100 feet of any building or within 10 feet of any roadway.

Dead limbs, branches and other combustible matter from trees or other growing vegetation adjacent to or overhanging a structure should also be removed, and residents should maintain 5 feet of vertical clearance between roof surfaces and any overhanging portion of trees

Residents must also remove any portion of a tree that extends within 10 feet of a chimney or stovepipe, and trim and maintain all vegetation away from the curb line up to a height of 13.5’ to accommodate emergency vehicles.

More information on the Hazardous Vegetation Management Program is available at (626) 744-4668, or www.cityofpasadena.net/Fire.