The Idyllwild Town Crier's Annual Guide to Better Living

Page 10 - Homes & Land Improvement - Spring 2009Owners must reduce vegetation around homeBy Becky ClarkNews EditorThe odds a person’shome will be spared ifa wildfire strikes theIdyllwild communities goup dramatically if defensiblespace is around thestructure.To help protect homesand to aid in fire suppression,property owners ofdeveloped and undevelopedprivate land in themountains are required tokeep the amount of wildfirefuel (vegetation) on theirproperties at a minimumyear-round.Specific laws were adoptedso property ownersknow what is required.Fire department personnelinspect properties usuallyin the spring and summer.If a property passesinspection, the propertyowner receives a notice ofcompliance. In Idyllwild,property owners are requiredto make their ownfirst inspection.If property inspectionfails, the property owner receivesa noncompliance noticespecifying what needsto be corrected with abouta month’s time to do so. Onthe second inspection, if theproperty fails again, a noncompliancenotice gives theproperty owner about twoweeks to make corrections.On the third inspection,if the property fails,a CalFire or Idyllwild FireDepartment representativeissues the property ownera citation and the issue isturned over to RiversideCounty Superior Court. InIdyllwild, the fire departmentmay have a contractorabate the property and thenbill the property owner forthe work.To help protect homesand keep people out ofcourts, Riverside CountyFire Protection Ordinance787 and Public ResourcesCode 4291 appear below:Within 0-100 feet ofstructures located on, oradjoining vacant parcels• Limb all established nativetrees, not ornamentals,brush or chaparral, up 1/3of their height or 7 feet,whichever is less.Within 10 feet of structureslocated on, or adjoiningvacant parcels• Clear pine needles,weeds and duff to mineralsoil.• Remove flammablechaparral (like manzanitaand chamise) and deadtrees.• Remove live or deadtree branches within 10 feetof a chimney or stovepipe.• Remove dead or dyingtree branches that touchor overhang a structure.(Idyllwild Fire recommendsthat live branchesfitting this category also beremoved.)Within 10-100 feet ofstructures located on, oradjoining vacantparcels• Remove dead trees.(Riverside County rulesstate a maximum stumpheight of 12 inches.)Clearances10’ zone• Clear pine needles, weeds and duff.• Remove fl ammable chaparral anddead trees.• Remove any tree branches within 10feet of a chimney.• Remove tree branches overhangingstructure.100’ zone or to the property line,whichever is less• Remove dead trees.• Cut dead grass and weeds to groundlevel.• Clear the ground surrounding anydead tree to mineral soil 10 feet in alldirections.• All pine needles, forest litter, weedsand duff should not exceed a depth of2 inches.• Keep the distance between brush andchaparral equal to the width of thewidest adjacent plant. Remove deadnative chaparral plants and dead limbsand twigs from the remaining plants.• Limb all established native trees, notornamentals, brush or chaparral, up1/3 of their height or 7 feet, whicheveris less.• Cut dead grass andweeds to ground level.• All pine needles, forestlitter, weeds and duffshould not exceed a depthof 2 inches.• Keep the distance betweenbrush and chaparralequal to the width of theSee Abatement, next pageFREE GRANT MONEY3’ChimneyHouse10’ zone9’10’100’Ray’s Mobile Welding• Complete Welding• Mig - Arc - HeliarcSpecialist• Aluminum - Steel- Stainless Steel• Equipment Repair- Tractors, Trailers, etc.Ray Cota(951) 763-2343Fire Abatement30 Yrs ExperienceFIREWOODSNOWPLOWINGTree Limbing/RemovalWoodsplitting/Landscaping/HaulingScale: 1/4” = 10’100’ zoneHarding Construction& MaintenanceConstructionNew Build and Remodel7’Lic. #590227~25 Years building experience in Idyllwild~Decks • Painting • RoofingStan~(951) 303-7887 Steve~(951) 659-224321’