Fire Safe Council utilizes funds to conduct 7 vegetation abatement workday projects

FALLBROOK – The Fallbrook Fire Safe Council utilized funds from a $2,500 grant provided to them by the San Diego Fire Foundation and San Diego Gas & Electric to conduct seven vegetation abatement workday projects at homes of elderly and/or disabled members of the greater Fallbrook community and to conduct a communitywide workshop on wildfire preparation.

The workday projects were performed between July 2021 and February 2022. The projects were identified by the Fire Marshall of the North County Fire Protection District and were executed in accordance with their guidelines. Each of these projects was supported by volunteers from the local community as well as personnel from Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton.

During the execution of the workdays, the volunteers removed vegetation away from the homes; trimmed bushes and trees to reduce the exposure to wildfire conditions and chipped between 8 to 10 cubic yards of trimmed vegetation into mulch at each location. This effort allowed the property owners to have the opportunity to spread the mulch around their property to aid in weed control and water reduction efforts, thus fulfilling one of the objectives of the council of creating defensible space around the primary structures on the property.

The equipment used during these workdays was provided by Fallbrook Equipment Rentals and by one of the council member's personal chipper. An additional workday was conducted on March 19 in the De Luz Highlands area where vegetation from trimmed and dead trees was chipped into mulch and weeds growing around the house were cut.

The community workshop, held Nov. 4, 2021, included representatives from the North County Fire Protection District, local insurance company, local fire abatement companies and members of the Fallbrook Fire Safe Council. Presentations were made on topics to include fire preparedness, home safety, evacuation procedures, "Ready, Set, Go" program and fire insurance policy review process. The community had the opportunity to ask questions at the conclusion of the presentations.

The Fallbrook Fire Safe Council is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization working within a broad coalition of private and public sector organizations and people to provide education and information that fosters fire safety preparedness within the Fallbrook, Bonsall, De Luz and Rainbow regions. To reach the Fallbrook Fire Safe Council send an email to [email protected] for additional information or visit them online at fallbrookfiresafecouncil.org.

Submitted by the Fallbrook Fire Safe Council.