Officials Remind Residents To Clear Brush From Around Homes

The recent fire above Monrovia should serve as a reminder that we live in a fire prone area and should make every effort to mitigate the fire danger.

The City of Glendora reminds residents that fire danger is at its highest during the hot dry summer months.  Residents should check their property to ensure they have done their part to help reduce fire danger by removing brush and other fuel for fire items from around their homes.

It is each property owner’s responsibility to take necessary actions to clear dry or dangerous vegetation and hazardous brush away from homes and structures. These steps are necessary to create a defensible space which may help save homes in the event of a fire.

The following brush clearance requirements are specified in the California Fire Code:

• Remove all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth within 30 feet of any structure.
• Clear brush a minimum of 200 feet from any structure.
• Remove dead branches from living trees, they are not allowed to overhang the roofs of structures or buildings.
• Maintain roofs to be free of dead leaves and flammable debris.
• Do not have woodpiles or stacked wood within 30 feet of a structure.
• Do not have flammable vegetation within 10 feet of woodpiles or stacked wood.
• Remove or trim all vegetation a minimum of ten feet from chimneys or stovepipes.
• Keep landscape clean, remove litter under trees, ground cover, succulents and shrubs, prune out all dead wood.
• Leave space between shrubs and trees to prevent fire spread. Avoid continuous tree or brush canopies.
• Tree crowns should not overhang the roof and should be pruned high enough to avoid ignition by a ground fire.

Within 200 feet of structures, consider removing common garden plants that have proven particularly flammable due to high brush buildup and foliage oils such as Cypress, Fountain Grass, large Juniper, Eucalyptus, Pines, and other Conifers.

Successful prevention of catastrophic fires requires a partnership between the community and the City and LA County Fire Department to maintain properties free of hazards.