Create safe fire space around your home — Michael Loik

Dear Editor,
The devastating fires and heartbreaking consequences for our loved ones and friends in the Sonoma and Napa area should remind us that next time it could be us. The San Lornezo and Scotts Valleys, like much of the rest of California, are overgrown with invasive species of grasses, shrubs, and trees. Our recent drought meant that plants were primed to grow when last winter’s rainfall deluge hit. There is now lots of vegetation on the landscape that grew last winter and spring, and has which been drying since the rains ended. This is in addition to over 100 million trees that died statewide during the long drought. Our local land management and fire agencies remind us to clear a defensible space around your house, remove “ladder fuel” shrubs and small trees between two and ten feet tall, and trim small dry weeds and grasses. Use outdoor landscaping power tools in the cool morning, and observe fire restrictions. Preparedness also means having a plan for when wildfire occurs. Helpful resources can be found at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/ where you can learn how to Plan, Know and Act for wildland fire. A little bit of effort by all of us to keep fuels cleared in the San Lorenzo and Scotts Valleys will help reduce wildfire risk and impacts.
Michael Loik, Felton