HomeMy WebLinkAboutREDplumbph1November 9, 201 0
To :Dave F . Romero, Mayo r
From :T . Plumb RECEIVE D
Subject : Wildland fire hazard/urban interface NOV 0 9 201 0
SLO CITY CLER K
This is in regard to the high fire hazard interfaces around San Luis Obispo and Partridge Dr .
specifically .
Attached is a copy of a letter sent to City Fire Warden Rodger Maggio on June 27, 2009 reviewin g
a meeting with him, me, and three other Partridge Drive homeowners regarding fuel hazards o n
and next to the City's open space behind Partridge Drive .
Ever since the City obtained this open space behind Partridge Dr ., I've talked to Neil Havlick abou t
the need for fuel hazard reduction and long term vegetation management of this area . Each yea r
he has sent a crew to weed-whack a 20 to 25-foot strip of grass behind the Partridge houses .
Now this is a nice gesture, but one of limited fuel hazard reduction value . A few years ago a
much better effort involved a crew cutting down 15 to 20 tall woody 'broom' vegetation that ha d
invaded the interface between the grassland and the oak woodland above . That year they also
weed-whacked a 50-foot + grass strip . Since then, the brooms have resprouted vigorously an d
woody baccharis shrubs have invaded the western end of the open space greatly increasing th e
fuel load .
According to the 'Fire Section' of the City General Plan, "Fuel modification in conjunction wit h
appropriate construction techniques may reduce the risk of wildland fires spreading to the urba n
environment."and , "The Fire Department aims to reduce fire risk through its weed -
abatement program, which covers all wildland areas within the City's jurisdiction ."
I believe that San Luis Obispo has a distinct responsibility to protect the City's houses fro m
destruction by wildfire using whatever appropriate, economical means are available . I an d
several of my neighbors have already had trouble getting fire insurance . Now that the 'Very Hig h
Fire Hazard' Zones have been accepted into the City's General Plan it will not make getting fir e
insurance any easier . I hope that some meaningful fuel management policy will be developed fo r
the City's open space urban interface areas in the futur e
T . R . Plumb
hard cony :email :
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MEETING AGENDA
DATE /l/9//o ITEM #pig
June 27, 200 9
To :Rodger Maggio, City of San Luis Obispo Fire Marsha l
From : Partridge Dr . Homeowners
Subject: Fuel hazard reductio n
Greetings! This letter is to document our meeting with you on Wednesday afternoon ,
6/17/09, to discuss some of the fuel hazard problems on and next to the San Lui sObispo Open Space behind our houses on Partridge Dr . First, thanks for taking the tim e
to meet with us ; we really appreciate your input and help .
The various fuel hazards on and adjacent to the City's open space area have bee ndiscussed with Neil Havlik the last few years . Enclosed is a copy of an e-mail sent t o
him on May 9 about this . He noted that the grass would be cut in the next few weeks .A
20 to 25-foot strip of grass was cut above the fence line on 6/15/09 (Figures 1 & 2).
Based on our discussion last Wednesday and our own observations, the local fue l
hazard problems can be separated into the following four categories :
1.Grass vegetation .A mixture of annual grasses plus some perennial grass is th e
predominant vegetation in the 150 to 200 foot-wide hillside behind the Partridge Dr .
houses . If properly maintained, this grassy area makes a good natural fuel-brea k
between the houses and the oak woodland above the grass, and the very fire hazardou s
brush beyond the oak woodland . Neil Havlik has had a crew weed-whack a 20 to 30 -
foot wide strip of grass each spring . While this will help reduce the rate of fire spread ,
flame height, and fire intensity in this narrow strip, it doesn't reduce the fuel load . And ,
frankly, it does little to reduce the wildfire threat from the open space area.
We're not sure what the City's vegetation management goals are for the grassy area, bu t
we hope that it is to maintain the grass, both for the aesthetics and especially for th e
reduced fire hazard . The area was grazed each spring until a few years before the Cit y
obtained it for open space . If not grazed, the grass will eventually be heavily invaded b y
a variety of weeds, shrubs, and other woody vegetation . So, we hope that the ope n
space grassy area will be annually grazed or somehow maintained to keep the weed s
and woody plants in check and most important, to annually reduce the overall fuel load .
This seems like the only way to significantly reduce the threat of wildfire burning from th e
open space into the houses on Partridge Dr.
2.Semi-woody/shrubby vegetation .Because of the greater fuel load and thu s
greater fire hazard, shrubs are not a desirable component of the grassy area behin d
Partridge Dr. Unfortunately, the west end of the grassy area is heavily infested wit h
baccharis (Baccharis pilularis)and the upper edge of the area with a species of broo m
(Figures . 3 & 4). The broom, which was up to 20 feet in height, was cut by an inmat e
crew a few years ago, but it has resprouted vigorously. It needs to be recut or graze d
and ideally, eliminated . The baccharis should also be removed .
The eastern portion of the open space area is almost free of baccharis . because T.
Plumb spent many hours hand cutting both seedlings and adult plants. There were als o
some dense stands of 5 to 7-foot tall fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)which were also hand
3Fuel Hazard/Partridge Dr .
Figure 1 . Grassy open space behind the houses on Partridge Dr . prior to grass cuttin gby the City crew on 6/15/09 . Note the large Monterey pine at the back with branche sextending into the grass .
Figure 2 . Same as Figure 1, but after a 20 to 25-foot grass strip was cut on 6/15/09 .
Fuel Hazard/Partridge Dr .4
Figure 3 . Large mature baccharis shrubs invading the west end of the open spac e
grassy area behind Partridge Dr . Resprouting broom above the grassy area are at th e
back left .
Figure 4 . The 20 to 25-foot wide cut grass strip even includes large baccharis shrubs .A
dead Monterey pine is at the right behind 1963 Partridge . Dr.
Fuel Hazard/Partridge Dr .5
Figure 5 . One dead and several live Monterey pines along the fence line at bottom o f
the' City the open space behind 1963 Partridge Dr . See Figures 1 and 2 for a view fro mthe east .
Figure 6 . Deep litter under the pines along the fence plus the low branches and some o f
the downed woody material in the open space were removed on 6/18/09 by th ehomeowner. The large branches on the closest pine are still a major fire hazard .
June 30, 200 9
To:Neil Havlick, Natural Resources Manage r
From : T . Plum b
Subject:Fuel hazard reductio n
Greetings! Enclosed is a copy of a letter documenting a meeting that I and three othe r
Partridge Dr .homeowners had with Fire Marshal Rodger Marrio on June 17 regardin g
the various fuel hazard problems we see on and next to the City's open space abov e
Partridge Dr . Some of the major fuel problems that existed on and behind 196 3
Partridge Dr . were taken care of the next day .
The large branchy Monterey pine that extends into grassy open space plus the live an d
dead Monterey cypress next to it still need to be handled . Comments on the invadin g
baccharis and broom are covered in the attached letter . I don't want to soun d
ungrateful,but the narrow 20 to 25-foot grass strip cut this year is of marginal fire hazar d
reduction value . It stops at the big branchy pine noted above and the west end of th e
strip includes large mature baccharis .
I don't know if the City has a well designed fuel management plan for this and simila r
areas around town ; but if not, it should . The threat of wildland fire is an annual proble m
and should be properly addressed, even in tough budget times .Obviously, you already
know this .
Anyway, in spite of the above griping, I appreciate your current and past help to reduc e
the fire hazard to the Partridge Dr. houses.
Sincer ,
im Iumb