Fire Safe In San Diego

Fire Safe In San Diego by Bill Roberts

The rainy season is here. The hills are turning green. We won't have fires now until next summer. But if it rains a lot then we will have fires because the more the grass grows on the hills the more fuel there will be for the fires.

So how do we stay fire safe in San Diego?

With any luck we learned a few things this time around. We've been dealing with wildfires for my entire life (64 years) and probably before.

When I was a kid we lived right next to the mountains in Glendora, California. The wildfire came right down to the edge of our back yard. The fire fighters were standing on our shake shingle roof to fight the fire and protect our house. That was 1960. It seems we haven't learned anything since then. Maybe it will be different this time. Pray to God that it is.

We lost over 1500 homes in this year's wildfires in San Diego County.  This is a horrendous loss.

Lessons Learned

Yes, we learned many things this time around.

• Houses with wood roofs spontaneously combust from superheated air
• Wood decks are just as vulnerable
• Houses with Tile roofs survived even when the house next door burned
• Some stucco coatings seemed to be very resistant to fire
• Brush in canyons provided a route for the fires to enter the city
• Brush too close to houses brought the fire to the house
• Fire retardant sprayed on vegetation around houses saved them from the fire
• Swimming pools represented a fire protection asset in several ways
• Some people who defied evacuation stayed and saved their homes
• We need more fire fighters ready to fight the fires while the fires are still small

Yes, we learned many things this time around. The question remains, what will we do about it?

Most of the land in San Diego County where development can take place is in the areas subject to wildfires. Do we not build, or do we a get a handle on this problem once and for all?

What To Do 

Well, there are things we can do as individuals.

• We can build fire-safe houses.
• We can keep the brush away from our homes.
• We can stock pile enough fire retardant to spray everything around our homes in the event that a fire is approaching.
• We can establish neighborhood volunteer fire associations. There will no doubt be opposition to that but we need to be insistent.
• Build more swimming pools. Even if you don't like to swim the pools can be beautiful and they are a reservoir of water that can be used to save a life (jump in) or save a house.

I heard about one very enterprising fellow. He "rented" a herd of goats to eat the grass and brush on the hillside near his home. It saved his house. I think we need to do more of this. More goats, sheep, and cattle are needed in San Diego County. Maybe even a herd or two of Alpaca would be a good idea.

Let's all do everything we can to make the next fire season a less memorable one.

If you want to buy, sell, or develop property in the back country of San Diego County call Bill Roberts (619) 244-4610.