According to UC Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Initiative, the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires are a wake-up call for Central Coast residents to do their part in fire prevention.
Santa Barbara County is no stranger to massive wildfires, including the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned more than 280,000 acres and destroyed over 1,000 structures.
Alan Murray, UCSB geography professor and director of the Wildfire Initiative, said preventing neighborhood-wide destruction requires more than individual efforts—entire communities need to focus on creating defensible spaces around their homes.
Murray suggested that we think about defensible spaces like zones extending out around homes in concentric circles. He said the first zone is the most critical.
“The first zone would be within something like five feet– that you shouldn’t have anything that could combust, right? No exposed wood, other sorts of fuels, no piles of leaves, dead piles of leaves, or dead vegetation,” Murray said.
He also recommended adding non-combustible materials like rocks or gravel around the home. These hardscaping elements act as firebreaks, helping to slow the spread of fire.
At 30 feet from the home, residents are advised to trim plants and trees and maintain open space between flammable items like outdoor furniture. In the next zone, 100 feet out, Murray said to mow grass down to four inches or less and to keep the area between shrubs and trees clear.
