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Fire Safe News Fire-Wise Landscaping

Thoughts on the Los Angeles 2025 Fires by Greg Rubin

Greg Rubin is a landscape contractor specializing in California native plants. He is the founder of California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc. and has designed and installed over 700 native landscapes in Southern California.

After witnessing the horror in LA earlier this month, I just want to start by sharing my condolences with anyone who was affected by this nightmare, including those who lost their homes, pets, or God forbid, friends and family. It truly was the “perfect (fire)storm”, and I wanted to share some thoughts about ways we can better prepare ourselves for the next one, which at this point seems inevitable. I have some experience in this area, going back to around 1998, when some of my first clients were hit by wildfire. Since then, we’ve had about 20 or so homes that have experienced major fire events (such as Poomacha, Pines, Cedar, Witch Creek, Harris, etc.) and we have yet to lose a home (thanking our lucky stars). While I could never guarantee a home won’t burn in a firestorm, especially as violent as these, there are quite a few things we can do that will give us a much better chance of success and create defensibility without destroying the natural environment that we so love. I will apologize in advance for the length of this article.

My primary mentor along the way was the late Bert Wilson, owner of Las Pilitas native nursery, who was also a CalFire firefighter for 14 years. He had stressed the importance of fire safety since the beginning, some 30 years ago, and how so much of the conventional wisdom about chaparral (not forest!) fire ecology is misguided, and that much of what we have been told can make the problem worse. Using his protocols along the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) has led to dramatic, positive results. The response of the native landscapes to fire has played out pretty much as predicted.

Here is a summary of basic assumptions that feed into what has been a successful approach, later tested in a 4-year research study for the US Navy, with Dr. Jon Keeley and me as the Co-Principal Investigators:

• Hydration, not plant selection, generally determines flammability (in most cases).

• It requires very little supplemental water to hydrate drought-tolerant native plants, on the level of a summer thunderstorm or fog drip 2-3 times per month during the warm season.

• Using light overhead irrigation, like MP-Rotators, is essential to watering the whole symbiotic mycorrhizal biome, and is key to matting down the shredded mulch, leaving it as a dense, low, poorly oxygenated fuel that burns (smolders?) with low flame height. Shredded mulch adheres to the soil in this process. It also enhances the ability of the plants to maintain hydration levels by promoting moisture retention in the soil and the mycorrhizal fungi.

• Lightly hydrated native vegetation can catch and cool embers, while providing obstacles to disturb the ferocious flow of wind-blown ignition sources before they hit your house, fire then spreading from house to house.

• Many of the plants characterized as the worst “fire-bombs” benefit the most from light hydration.

• While most of our clients had enough property to implement these defensible landscape principles individually, they can be applied at the community level as well.

• The zonal approach can be very helpful, especially Zone 0 (0-5’ from the house) and Zone 1 (subsequent 30-50’ or more).

• True fire resistance starts at the house outward, not the landscape inward.

The sad truth in both the Palisades and Eaton fires is that these communities were comprised of closely packed homes, most of which were constructed before fire-resistant architecture was the norm. These developments were wide open to wind-driven ember attack, virtually independent of home landscapes – so many of the trees still stood green after the devastation. The preceding 8 months of extreme drought certainly didn’t help the situation.

The finger pointing is in full force, blaming politicians, agencies, and conservationists. Much of the response has been to turn the native plant communities into a boogeyman, reduced in description to “brush” or “fuel”. Many would have us strip the hillsides if they could. Certainly many insurance companies agree with this. This is one of the problems with categorizing these burns as fuel-driven, instead of wind-driven. Removing the native shrublands only replaces one “fuel” with another – flashy non-native weeds and grasses. Erosion would be out of control, habitat would be eradicated, and the whole area would be well on its way to desertification. Many areas of Riverside County are a good example, unfortunately.

So how do we protect an entire community? For starters, create lightly irrigated greenbelts as buffers between the unmodified chaparral and the houses. Some have suggested iceplant would be good for this; well, not in our experience. It would require about 2-3 times the water to achieve the same level of fire-resistance as the native greenbelt; it is awful erosion control; it has zero habitat value (unless you’re a snail or a rat); and it burns. So do Red Apple and Ivy.

Populate this greenbelt with a mix of taller trees right at the interface, laid out in a way that avoids groupings of more than 3, but providing blockage in separate but visually overlapping coverage a little downslope. Oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, Catalina cherry are some examples. Here and there add large shrubs like toyon and Lemonadeberry, again not in large masses but separated overlapping coverage. Finally, the plantings can be unified with native ground covers, including Baccharis, Ceanothus, Manzanita, etc. A greenbelt like this would provide ember catching and cooling, and most importantly, perturb the otherwise unbroken flow of cinders blasting homes.

These plantings need to be lightly irrigated with overhead irrigation, as well as mulched with a shredded bark product, namely Redwood, which has proven to be highly fire resistant when matted down correctly. This last suggestion is controversial and not universally shared, mostly because burn tests are not representative of the landscape condition. In fact, many areas of the state have banned this fantastic product; I can tell you that despite my public outreach, in articles, books, and presentations, we were never contacted by any entity regarding this. They would have seen lots of documented photographic evidence of its true behavior in real fire events, exactly how Bert Wilson predicted 30 years ago.

Beyond these planted areas, the natural native shrubland should be maintained, not eliminated, at about 50-60% coverage and no weeds, removing dead wood and some branches, which are then chipped and spread on site to encourage the ecology and discourage weeds. Studies have shown that thinning more than this yields rapidly diminishing returns, or worse, creates more problems than it solves (weeds, unimpeded embers, etc.). We are even experimenting with providing very light irrigation to the modified native shrubland, so far with excellent results. This would be especially useful where there is no practical way to create a planted native greenbelt. One issue for many homes along the WUI was overgrowth of vegetation (often non-native) into people’s yards.

Figure 1: An example of Zone 0 (up to 5′ from the house) as part of the landscape installation.

Turning to individual homes, in tight communities like these, you typically don’t have large enough yards to implement beyond Zone 1. However, the zones closer to the house yield the greatest payoff. Even before the concept of Zone 0 was official, we had been creating 5-10’ aprons around the foundations of our customers’ homes. Whether composed of DG, gravel, concrete, or bare dirt, they were very effective at preventing flames reaching underneath the eaves. Zone 1, usually the next 30-50’, is the domain of hard-scape and permanently irrigated plantings. Northern coastal manzanita, Ceanothus, Clinopodium, Erigeron, Epilobium, etc. do very well for this.

Beyond the scope of this article, we need to start looking at community-based fire response. There will never be enough firefighters or engines to guarantee home protection in a conflagration like this. A number of countries are implementing a program of volunteer fire fighters local to the residential areas that are trained and equipped to put out spot fires, which is often how structure fires start. Those with pools should have gas-powered pumps and fire hoses, as the first things to go in large fires are electricity and water pressure, which was very evident in this case.

My last piece of advice would be GET RID OF THE PALMS!

Figure 2: An example of a native landscape that, although singed, is perfectly alive. Its hydration level and ember catching ability helped prevent the ignition of the large wooden deck at the back of the house during the Witchcreek fire of 2007

Figure 3: Decomposed granite apron between the house and landscape. This house has survived 3 wildland fires since this installation in 1998.

Figure 4: Light hydration of naturally occurring Coastal Sage Scrub contrasts with the unirrigated portion beyond. The plants are not overgrown nor unhealthy, just hydrated.

Figure 5: This is how existing chaparral should be thinned (no more than 50%). This is what should be done where natural vegetation comes up against the community greenbelt. You end up with a beautiful park-like setting, while also preserving the plant community and all the habitat that goes with it.

Figure 6: This is what hundreds of feet of clearing beautiful, pristine chaparral got this homeowner, unfortunately. The perfect bowling alley for embers. We see this repeatedly.

Figure 7: This is an example of how the consolidated shredded redwood bark actually behaves in fires. With overhead irrigation it mats down to less than an inch thick and adheres to the soil. In this case, you can clearly see the scorch marks at the base of the house – <2″. Also note the un-melted marker flags that were placed BEFORE the fire (except the one that is partially melted due to the burning hose!). Also note the drain grate next to the flagstone that is unaffected.

California’s Own Native Landscape Design, Inc.
25950 Los Arboles Ranch Rd
ESCONDIDO, CA 92026
(760)-746-6870
www.calown.com

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Fire Safe News

Kensington residents concerned about fire risk posed by illegal encampments

On Tuesday, January 21, 2025 KPBS ran a story about the risks of wildfire due to illegal camping near Kensington. Amy Dyson, Judy Harrington and Mike Baldwin, all KFS board members, were interviewed. Watch the story.

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Community Presentations Fire Safe News

Montezuma Fire: The Miracle of Only One Home Lost. What Happened and What’s Next

Residents give firefighters a long standing ovation for their success in fighting the Montezuma Fire, at the recent community forum sponsored by Kensington Fire Safe and Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council.

On October 31, 2024, San Diego witnessed its second-largest fire in history. The Montezuma Fire, which erupted on Montezuma Road just east of Fairmount Avenue, drew a massive emergency response. Within about 10 minutes, the first crews arrived on the scene. Over 350 personnel—including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, engine strike teams, hand crews, and specialty apparatus from CalFire, San Diego Police, and other agencies—worked tirelessly to contain the blaze.

Their efforts paid off. Despite early concerns that the fire would devastate multiple homes, only one house was damaged beyond repair.

(For more information on the Montezuma fire read Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council Chair Karen Austin’s article.)

Judy Harrington, Kensington Fire Safe Co-Chair, speaks at the meeting. Karen Austin, Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council Chair, stands to the left of her.

On November 21, nearly 300 residents gathered at Hoover High School for a program to learn more about the fire and how to prepare for future wildfires. The event, organized by Kensington Fire Safe and Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council, featured a welcome by the new head of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, Chief Robert Logan, and presentations by Dan Eddy, Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Operations, and Assistant Fire Marshall Alex Kane. This was followed by a Q&A session with officials including Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, Lieutenant Christian Sharp of the San Diego Police Department, and Parks and Recreation Opens Spaces Deputy Director Erika Ferreira and Senior Park Ranger Erika Weikel.

“I will tell you, from being a 25-year firefighter…when I pulled up on the scene, I expected us to lose 15 to 20 homes,” said Chief Dan Eddy during his review of the fire. He commended the new evacuation system, describing it as a significant improvement over previous processes, and praised both firefighters and police for their swift and effective evacuation efforts, noting they “did a phenomenal job of getting people at risk out.”

The program, planned just three weeks after the fire to address residents’ pressing questions and concerns, was co-sponsored by the San Diego Fire Foundation, Kensington-Talmadge Community Association, College Area Community Council, and the Fire Safe Councils of San Diego County.

The presentation was recorded on video and you can watch it in four sections:

Section 1 – Introductions, standing ovation for SDFR, welcome from SD Fire Chief, Robert Logan and special Congressional recognition for longtime Armed Services YMCA board member and volunteer Elaine Boland, who lost her home in the fire (13 minutes)
Section 2 – Fighting the Fire: Dan Eddy, SDFR Assistant Chief of Operations (16 minutes)
Section 3 – How that House Caught Fire and How to Protect Your Home: SDFR Assistant Fire Marshall Alex Kane (23 minutes)
Section 4 – Q & A (31 minutes)

We are extremely grateful to Kensington resident Charles Stebbins for recording the presentation for us.

You can view all the photos from the event on DropBox. Thanks to Kensington resident Gary Payne, husband of our own board member Zoraida Payne, for these great shots.

For more details, see the local news coverage from KPBS:
Fire Officials Answer Questions About Brush Management, Traffic Control After College Area Fire.

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Fire Safe News

Alder Canyon Fire on September 8, 2024

A fire broke out in the canyon on Alder Drive near Hart Drive on Sunday, September 8, 2024, around noon. Thankfully, no one was injured, and no structures were damaged.

With temperatures soaring to 103 degrees in Kensington that day, conditions were ripe for a fire. The response was swift, with four fire trucks and five police cars arriving at the scene. A fire helicopter circled overhead, though it did not make a water drop.

Firefighters quickly tapped into the hydrant at the corner of Argos and Hart Drive, pumping water into the canyon and extinguishing the blaze within hours. A woodpile, along with a patch of grass and shrubs down the canyon slope, were charred, but that seems to be the extent of the damage.

A few neighbors were evacuated as a precaution but were allowed to stay nearby to observe the situation.

Judy Harrington, co-chair of Kensington Fire Safe, spoke with one of the firefighters the following day. They suspect the fire was caused by an overheated electrical wire due to high demand with everyone having their air conditioning on. Same for another fire that started shortly thereafter near N Kensington. There were no indications of homeless encampments in the Alder canyon area.

A representative from Sean Elo-Rivera’s office reached out to Kensington Fire Safe the next day, offering assistance if needed.

We hope this close call inspires Kensington residents to clear flammable brush from their yards and canyon areas during the upcoming Dumpathon. With fires on the rise, reducing potential fuel is essential to keeping our neighborhood safe.

Categories
Fire Safe News

Kensington neighbors take wildfire prevention measures

On October 9, 2023, NBC’s local news aired this story about how Kensington is preparing for a possible wildfire. The story features our own Kensington Fire Safe co-chair Judy Harrington. Watch the story here.

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Fire Safe News

Free Home Assessment Program!

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Fire Safe News

Celebrating the Fall 2023 Dumpathon

The story is simple. We provide the dumpsters, you provide the fire fuel in the form of your canyon and yard trimmings. We haul away over 15 tons of potentially flammable green waste and that makes Kensington safer from wildfire. When all the work is done we come together as a community to celebrate our achievement. The Fall 2023 Dumpathon marked yet another success!

A huge round of applause for our 15 dedicated dumpster-minders, the unsung heroes who graciously allowed us to place a dumpster in front of their homes for ten days. While we weren’t able to capture a photo of everyone, we extend heartfelt gratitude to all the volunteers. Here’s a glimpse of some of our remarkable individuals:

After hauling away over 15 tons of fire fuel from our neighborhood, we deserved a celebration! Terri Mathes, a board member, opened her doors to our community, inviting us to celebrate our accomplishment at her and her husband Jim and wonderful dog Hawkeye’s charming residence.

Guest were warmly greeted by board member Ryan Hunter and his husband J.B.

The celebration was graced with a fantastic array laid out by the Kensington Fire Safe board. The tantalizing spread was a sight to behold.

“And the Oscar goes to…” Each dumpster-minder was presented an “Oscar” as a token of appreciation for their exceptional service to the community, accompanied by a bottle of wine, graciously donated by the KFS board.

The highlight of the event was the arrival of our esteemed guests, the members of Fire Station 18. Their presence was an acknowledgment of our collective commitment to fire safety. They offered their heartfelt thanks before they were urgently called away.

With renewed spirits, guests enjoyed the remainder of the gathering, fostering a sense of camaraderie and community spirit that resonated throughout the celebration.

The Fall 2023 Dumpathon was more than just a cleanup; it was a testament to unity, shared responsibility, and the significance of coming together as a community for a safer future.

Funding for the Dumpathon is provided by The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, SDG&E, The San Diego River Conservancy and Kensington residents.

Categories
Community Presentations Fire Safe News

Home Owner Insurance Presentation

It was standing room only at KFS’s February 11, 2023 home owner insurance presentation by Scott Caraveo.  The crowd had great questions about the challenges of finding coverage in California!

Here’s an iPhone video of Scott’s talk in two parts.

View part 1.

View part 2.

If you have additional questions – please send them to us at info@kensingtonfiresafe.org (along with suggestions for future presentations or other fire-related questions you may have for us).

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Community Recognition Fire Safe News

KFS Awarded $8000 SAFE Grant for Dumpathon

(Photo: Pictured above from left is Penny Newell, Senior Communications Manager for SDG&E, who has been extremely helpful in securing funding for KFS, along with KFS board members, Amy Dyson, Vicki Pinkus and Judy Harrington.)

KFS is proud to announce we were awarded an $8,000 SAFE grant by the Fire Safe Council of SD County, for our dumpster program, and our co-chairs were recognized with a volunteer of the year award! FSC-SDC programs is funded by the San Diego River Conservancy, United States Forest Service, SDG&E, and the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego County as well as donations from private individuals.

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Fire Safe News

Memorial Day Parade 2022

The Kensington Memorial Day Parade was a roaring success! We were Entry #3 right behind “our” Fire Station 18 fire truck. “Our Firefighters” say howdy and thanks to all!

 Although the photos don’t show the very large crowds that were just a couple of blocks south of Ridgeway on Marlborough Drive, thanks to my amazing early teen “helpers,” Aliana and Nikki, we gave out 98 beautiful Dumpathon flyers to very interested onlookers in just 5 blocks. 

Dozens and dozens of onlookers cheered us on, and I shouted out our website to many parade onlookers.

We may have been the “smallest” entry in the Parade but we certainly were a wee hit!

-Vicki Pinkus, Vice President, KFS Board of Directors