BRUSH CLEARANCE SOUGHT TO PROTECT AGAINST FIRES.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Firefighters begin checking Antelope Valley properties this month to make sure that brush and weeds are cleared away from buildings before the start of wildfire season.

Last year the fire season started early and hot, with brush tinder dry from the lack of rain, but fire officials said this spring's storms created a crop of wild grasses that will ignite easily as summer progresses.

``Last year we were in drought conditions so that light, flashy fuel (plants) really didn't grow,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Kurt Schaefer. ``The rain we've had this year caused those light, flashy fuels to grow and then when the weather changes - winds, warmer temperatures - it doesn't take long for them to dry out. Those fuels actually carry the fire along.''

``When the weather changes to late spring, early summer conditions, a lot of that fuel is going to dry out and become dangerous,'' Schaefer said.

The brush clearance program is a joint effort between the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the county Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures, Weed Hazard and Pest Abatement Bureau.

The joint effort gives the team legal permission to clear or remove any fire hazard they see on any vacant or poorly maintained properties.

The Fire Department sends out postcards in February to remind property owners it is time to clear brush. On May 1, firefighters from local stations will begin checking properties in their area to see if owners have complied.

If not, the inspectors will leave a notice explaining what needs to be done for property owners to comply.

A month later, the inspector will come back, and if the land still is not cleared the case will be referred to the brush clearance office. That office will send out a work crew to clear the property, and the cost of the clearance can be added to the owner's property tax bill.

``Most people know when brush clearance time begins and they do what they need to so that it doesn't come to that,'' Schaefer said.

Firefighters say keeping brush a proper distance from homes and other buildings gives them more chance of saving a home from an approaching fire and gives them a safe area to position themselves.

The Fire Department offers the following suggestions for clearing property to make it safer during the coming brush-fire season:

--Remove flammable vegetation and other combustible growth within 30 feet of any structures or, in hazardous areas, within 50 feet.

--Thin out or remove other vegetation an additional 70 feet from structures. Trees, ornamental shrubbery and ground covers may be permitted provided they will not readily transmit fire from native vegetation to structures.

--Install landscaping plants that are drought-tolerant and fire-resistant - and maintain them.

--Space trees and shrubs a minimum of 15 feet apart or three times their diameter from other shrubs. Trees should be spaced to allow 30 feet between their canopies when they reach full maturity.

--Trees taller than 18 feet should have branches pruned within 6 feet of the ground. For trees and shrubs less than 18 feet high, lower branches should be removed from the first one-third of the tree's height.

--Maintain all plants by regularly removing dead branches and leaves.

--Remove all stacks of combustible materials and keep stacks of wood at least 30 feet from structures.

--Keep butane or propane tanks at least 10 feet from any structure and maintain 10 feet of clearance.