by the FireSafe Santa Cruz Education & Outreach Committee
Since we all find ourselves restricted to home more due to the COVID-19 orders, now is a good time to begin doing work around your property to improve fire-defensible space. Each of us needs to do what we can to make our homes and property more defensible for what may become a long and challenging fire season ahead.
Working together with your neighbors whenever possible will create broad areas of fire-defensible space around all structures and along evacuation routes, thereby multiplying the benefits of your efforts. Anything you can do will make a positive difference.
Disposing of dead and excess vegetation is always an issue property owners grapple with. Rather than increasing fire hazards by leaving piles of brush and branches around your property, remove your dry excess fuel in a safe manner. Vegetation/fire hazard removal options are:
Green Waste Pickup: Green Waste pickup is available to all Santa Cruz County residents. Call to schedule larger items or additional green waste bins when necessary.
Landfill/Recycling: Landfills accept vegetative debris. Many landfills have recycling centers which chip / mulch vegetative waste for reuse.
Curbside Mechanical Chipping: You can purchase your own chipper, hire professionals to do chipping for you, or you can take advantage of the FREE local chipping program hosted by the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County. This free program has limited funding so, if you are interested, please sign up now! For more information, follow this link: firesafesantacruz.org/no-cost-chipping
Backyard Burning: Burning excess vegetation is another way to reduce fuel hazards, especially when the material is located in an area difficult to access with a chipper. Residential or backyard burning must be allowed in your fire district, burn permits are required, and you need to follow the rules.
Not all fire districts issue backyard burn /residential burn permits. If you are uncertain where to obtain a burn permit, or if you have any other questions regarding backyard burns or the permitting process, please call the Monterey Air Resources District at (831) 647-9411. Burning without permits or on no-burn days will be subject you to penalties and fines, where applicable.
Violations of any burning permit terms are a violation of state law (Public Resources Code 4421, 4422, 4423 And 4425) and Health & Safety Code Section 13007: “Any person who personally or through another willfully, negligently, or in violation of law, sets fire to, allows fire to be set to, or allows a fire kindled or attended by him to escape to, the property of another, whether privately or publicly owned, is liable to the owner of such property for any damages to the property caused by the fire.”
Important Facts About Backyard Burning:
Backyard burn permits are required. Call the Monterey Bay Air Resources District at (831) 647-9411 to obtain a permit or to find out more information.
Backyard burning season is December 1st – April 30th however, the backyard burn season can be delayed, suspended or cut short at Cal Fire’s discretion, during wildfire season. Only when Cal Fire deems it safe to burn is backyard burning allowed.
You are only to burn yard trimmings, clippings, or pruning from plants grown on the property. Under no circumstances can you burn trash, construction debris; processed, treated, or painted lumber; plastics; vegetation from outside the permitee’s property; or other non-vegetative products.
For safety purposes, it is also critical that you never burn poison oak.
For more information, burn requirements, and to obtain a burn permit log on to: www.montereybaycleanair.org
To find out if it is a burn day call: 1-800-CAL-BURN
From the home page go to: – > Permitting -> Open Burning Permits / Smoke Management -> Backyard Burn Permit Online Application.
Due to topographic, demographic, meteorological considerations; and a high population of wood-burning device use; the San Lorenzo Valley has a history and propensity of smoke impacts. For these reasons, San Lorenzo Valley is considered a smoke-sensitive area. Obtaining a backyard burn permit in an SSA involves additional requirements, restrictions, and considerations.
There are 2 basic differences between non-smoke sensitive areas and San Lorenzo Valley backyard burn permits:
San Lorenzo Valley residents must have a minimum size parcel of 1 acre (verified by Assessor’s parcel) and property must include 1 or 2 permanent houses to qualify for a backyard burn permit. Properties with no permanent residential houses require a different permit. If your property does not have a residential house and is not considered an agricultural property, contact the local fire department to discuss other burn permit options.
In addition to having a backyard burn permit, prior to burning, San Lorenzo Valley residents must also obtain a daily burn authorization for the day they want to burn. You can get a daily burn authorization any time after 4 p.m. the day before burning. To minimize smoke impacts in the San Lorenzo Valley, only 5 backyard burns are allowed per fire district each burn day in the SLV. The daily burn authorizations help track how many burns are occurring in SLV on any given burn day. Fire departments can log on to see exactly where the burns are located their jurisdiction.
To find out the burn zone or fire jurisdiction your property is in, or to obtain a burn permit, go to: montererybaycleanair.org
On Which Days Is Burning Allowed?
The California Air Resource Board (CARB) meteorologists’ forecast for smoke dispersion and local weather conditions to determine if the following day is a “burn day” or “non-burn day.” If meteorological conditions are expected to be good for smoke dispersion, it will be declared a burn day. The burn day status is determined by 4:00 pm the afternoon prior.
To view the burn day status:
Logging onto www.montereybaycleanair.com
Call (800) CAL-BURN (800-225-2876) or
Call CARB’s burn day status hotline at (916) 445-0747
What is a burn zone?
Topographic and climate differences make fire and smoke behave differently. For this reason, areas in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties have been divided into three burn zones: coastal, inland, and the San Lorenzo Valley—smoke-sensitive area. It could be a “burn day” in one zone but a “no-burn day” in the other two zones, so know your zone.
What More Can You and Your Neighbors Do To Reduce Your Fire Danger?
More information: https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/defensible-space