Wildfire Preparedness
Monte Nido is a beautiful place to call home. However, as a part of the “Wildland Urban Interface”, the threat of wildfires come as a part of the tradeoff for that beauty. Living in the Wildland Urban Interface begins by maintaining your home in a way that firefighters can defend in the event of a wildfire. The following government resources can assist in your preparation.
Creating and maintaining defensible space is essential for increasing your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. A key component of that is brush clearance. The LA County Fire Department has prepared Ready!Set!Go!: a 7:13 min video and 16-page brochure succinctly defining how to create a defensible space around your home.
Here are the three most urgent steps to creating defensible space:
Clear away dead trees, brush, and vegetation within at least 100ft (200 ft. is safer in our high fire severity zone!) of your home. Doing so removes fuel for the fire. If you spend an hour each weekend on these tasks, doing so becomes less daunting.
Place 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch metal mesh over attic vents and soffits to prevent embers from entering your home. Homes usually are not ignited by a flame front but rather by the ember wash that comes through. Embers can be blown into small openings in your house and catch attics or concealed spaces on fire. By covering these openings with 1/8 inch screening, you eliminate that possibility.
Remove leaves and debris from roofs and gutters. Leaves and debris can quickly ignite and spread, threatening your home for the required 200 feet from structures, retrofitting your home with fire-resistant materials and preparing you to safely evacuate well ahead of a wildfire.
LA County Fire Department manages the Brush Clearance Inspection Program. Check out the program as described in a 9:15 minute You Tube video explaining specifically what brush clearance is required to create a defensible space for fire fighters in the event of a wildfire. Please make sure you or contractors you hire remove or chip on site all cut vegetation and dispose of all cut vegetation properly, at a licensed disposal site.
Los Angeles County has provided Los Angeles Emergency Survival Guide, a 100 page booklet providing information for all different types of emergencies including wildfires. It is a bit less specific on brush clearance and wildfire preparedness, and more helpful for developing a Family Emergency Plan.
Other Information
Cal Fire Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone
State of California has designated Monte Nido a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ). This FHSZ designation is meant to help limit wildfire damage to structures through planning, prevention, and mitigation activities/requirements that reduce risk. Cal Fire has published a map showing Monte Nido lies within the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.in the State Responsibility Area (as opposed to Local Responsibility Area).CalFire created the Ready for Wildfire webpage with a handy app to create a wildfire preparedness plan, directions on receiving text messages on wildfire incidents near you and a brief, clear evacuation guide.
Local Coastal Plan
Monte Nido lies within the jurisdiction of the Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Plan, providing Coastal Development Permits (CDP) for new construction or significant remodeling or repurposing of an existing property. To the extent such CDP specifies particular brush clearance on your prospective building site, you will want to consult the plan
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services or Cal OES
To stay updated on evacuation orders and other key emergency information in your area, sign up for alerts here.
