Juniper Flats Fire Safe Council

Lynn Corliss
841-2130
George Jennings
468-2888

Meetings: Big Springs Community Church 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm

When February’s Hotlum Fire made the news, every reporter mentioned what was lost: a home, some outbuildings and vehicles. Today we are going to look at what was saved in this and other recent Juniper Flat Fires.
A long-time resident, who does not wish to be identified, did not have to live here long, and no one had to tell him what he had to do to live here safely.
‘It’s the lightning,” he told me. “Its creepy the way it comes at night when you are asleep. You could go to bed around here and not wake up.” After observing the rapid spread of several nearby fires started by lightning strikes – and years before he heard the words “Defensible Space”, “Resident X” set to work creating a “shaded fuel break” – another term he never heard - around his home. That means he left the canopies of the trees, he just removed the lower limbs and all vegetation from under them. He has a well-kept green lawn immediately around his home and has used our native rock to further add interest to his attractive but fire-safe yard. Also notable is that Resident X is way ahead of his time as the space he created complies with the new 100 foot requirement, and he completed his task years ago.
And that’s a good thing for Mr. and Mrs. X because the Hotlum Fire was headed straight for their home - a wall of flames driven by winds gusting up to 60 MPH. Mt. Shasta Vista Volunteer Fire Company (MSVVFC) firefighters and others arrived on the scene in time to defend the home and property. While the fire charred most of the bordering properties, Resident X ‘s property stands virtually untouched. “I just lost one tree,” he says. Firefighters successfully protected several other defensible Juniper Flat homes that were threatened by the Hotlum Fire.
The most dramatic story took place in the summer of 2003. As the “97 Fire” swept through the subdivision, it raged across our narrow roads, making those roads impassible. Firefighters knew of a resident who was trapped by the towering flames but could not get to her. The resident was safe. Just days before the fire occured, concerned friends had pitched in and helped her create a “defensible space” around her home. In fact, they had done such a good job that the home needed no defending – it survived on its own – without firefighter intervention. This should be the goal of all of us who live where wildfires are part of life.
“So where do I hire a bulldozer to create this space?” is a common question. You do not need a bulldozer and you do not have to create a100 foot parking lot around your home. Like Resident X, you can modify your living environment to discourage the spread of fire while maintaining the natural feel of the landscape. The idea is to separate “fuels”.
Fuels are anything that will burn in a fire. Juniper Flat’s primary fuels are shrubs, juniper trees and dry grasses.
Some fuels, particularly dry grasses, ignite very easily but do not generate intense heat. These are called “flash fuels”. They provide a favorable environment for the ignition of fires, and carry the fire to other fuels that allow it to build. “Ladder fuels” - shrubs and short trees - increase the flame height and intensity, conducting fire up into tree canopies. When this happens, a fire can quickly become extremely dangerous and difficult to control.
You can have all types of plants in your yard so long as they are separated so that fire does not spread easily between them and thinned so that they do not generate excessive heat. Or as one fire official put it, “We are less interested in what is growing there and more interested in what is going on between what’s growing there.”
Firefighter safety is also a key element in planning a defensible space. When wildfires rage, resources are limited. There are a limited number of firefighters using equipment with limited capabilities and a limited amount of water. Fire chiefs are responsible for using those resources in the most efficient manner possible and in a way that will not place firefighters at undue risk. A home with a properly prepared defensible space will help firefighters to use those resources efficiently and safely so that they can protect more homes and more lives.
“Defensible space doesn’t work!” We often hear this and when we ask the exclaimer what makes them so sure, they often point to the fact that glowing embers are flying through the air, and they fly further than 100 feet.
Flying embers do indeed fly further than 100 feet. And glowing embers do spread fire – firefighters call this “spotting” and it can occur a half mile or more ahead of a main fire, as was the case during the Hotlum Fire, says MSVVFC Chief Mary Cameron.
So if there are hot embers flying through the air, wouldn’t you like to know that they are less likely to ignite in your yard because there are fewer ember-friendly places for them to land? And if they do ignite a fire in your yard, wouldn’t you prefer that it is a small manageable fire, separate from other fuels, and not a part of a chain of fuels that will lead the fire to your home?
Embers are just one of several ways that a fire spreads, explains Chief Mary Cameron, and defensible space reduces the risk from each. Fire spreads by direct flame and by radiant heat – which means that it can heat surrounding fuels to their ignition point. Radiant heat was a factor in the Oakland Hills Fire. Homes were so close together that the heat from one caused the home next door to explode into flames in a deadly chain reaction.
“To a firefighter, defensible space means less flame, less heat, less rugged terrain and increased visibility” says Chief Cameron. “It makes it possible for us to stay and work.” Cameron emphasizes the importance of giving firefighters a safe entrance to the property. Trees with overhanging branches, narrow, deadend driveways, unstable bridges or locked gates can force firefighters to go looking for a more defensible home to protect.
Our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our families and our homes – let’s do our share and give them a safe place to work.
Call 530 938-0350 or email marjorieking@starband.net for detailed information about the new 100 foot defensible space regulations.
If you plan to reduce fuels on your property this year in response to the activities of JFFSC, please let me know – it can help us bring grant money into the community.
Don’t burn it – Chip it! Thank you to those who participated in this year’s chipper days. Watch for more chipper days in the spring!

To: Mt. Shasta Vista Property Owners Association manager Nick Mitchell for volunteering his time to JFFSC.

Juniper Flat Fire Safe Council
PO Box 55 Grenada CA 96038