Compliant

In late March I published a post addressing an ordinance adopted by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors calling for the creation and maintenance of "defensible space clearance" surrounding homes and other buildings in areas within a "high or very high fire severity zone" as designated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Effectively, that designation applies to the entire peninsula on which we live.  In capital letters and red print, the letter we received from the Fire Department was described as a "NOTICE TO DESTROY HAZARDOUS BRUSH, DRY GRASS, WEEDS, COMBUSTIBLE GROWTH OR FLAMMABLE VEGETATION TO INCLUDE NATIVES AND ORNAMENTALS."  The partial list of vegetation "known to be flammable" included: Acacia, Cedar, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Juniper, Pine, and Pampas Grass.  Additional information was provided concerning homeowner responsibilities, annual inspections, a $151 inspection fee to be billed on the 2026 property tax bill, and a description of penalties to be assessed if a property owner cited for non-compliance fails to correct any issues described in the citation within thirty days.  Inspections of properties along the coast were expected in June.  You can find my original post here and associated posts regarding the actions I took here and here.

Even prior to the new ordinance, we'd received annual walk-through inspections (with no associated fees).  I've spoken to those inspectors on a couple of occasions, receiving input I was asked to pass along to a neighbor on one occasion but never any criticism of my own landscape.  I watched for the inspectors in June but never saw anyone, although I spotted a fire department vehicle hustling through the neighborhood on one occasion that month.  I subsequently spoke to a neighbor who told me he'd been cited and he referred generally to other neighbors he thought may have been cited as well.  My husband and I received no citation; however, we finally received a notice in early August (dated July 3, 2025) notifying us that we were found "compliant" with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Fire Code.  We were also advised that the local fire station may conduct further inspections throughout the fire season and that, if we were to sell our house more than six months following the official notice of our compliance, we'd need to request another inspection.

So I didn't get much in the way of guidance!  I can only make rudimentary assumptions based on the actions taken by selected neighbors.  If anyone in our neighborhood received formal notice of non-compliance with an inspection citation, I haven't heard about it but then how many people would advertise that?

Here's what I noticed with respect to neighbor properties.  As I don't have any recent "before" photos you can only rely on my personal assessments.

This unirrigated area previously included masses of Asphodelus fistulosus (aka onionweed).  The homeowner told me he thought it was attractive, which it is for about a nanosecond in early spring.  He pulled all of it up and cut back the woody Echiums.  When we talked he told me that the inspector focused exclusively on the front garden, never venturing into the back garden.

This neighbor pruned the trees, increasing the space between them, and also pulled the weeds in his front garden

These neighbors had the most extensive work done, although my guess is that much of it may have been unrelated to any citation.  It included the removal of 2 dead and one dying Eucalyptus and pruning all their pine, palm, and California pepper trees (Schinus molle).  The only thing I found odd was that they didn't remove  the 2 large junipers lined up against the house. They have a wide pickle ball court and patio area between the house and the succulent bed running along the street so their home seems generally well-protected in the event of a wildfire.

Their palm trees were beautifully groomed by the tree service crew.  In fact, it appears that virtually everyone with a palm tree in the surrounding area had their dead fronds removed.

This neighbor across the street from the prior property had general pruning done

This neighbor had all her tall pine trees nicely pruned for the first time I can remember

No work was done here other than the owners' own weekly sweeps of debris.  I've always had concerns with the Eucalyptus trees here, one which looks to be no more than a foot from the house and the other which sits right along the street.  None of the trees appear particularly healthy and they're not well pruned.  There's only one way to drive out of our neighborhood and, if one of those trees falls into the street, it could have dire consequences.

By comparison, this Eucalyptus in another neighbor's garden is well-maintained.  These trees are questionable in a high fire risk area to begin with but at least this one is healthy.

This one-plus acre lot has been empty for decades and the owner doesn't maintain it at all to our knowledge.  The city comes in annually and cuts down the weeds and overgrowth, presumably billing the owner.  Whoever did the work this year left ample debris behind and I really hope the Fire Department filed a citation.  Penlities include a $500 administrative fee, an assessment of $1199 added to the owner's tax bill, and another inspection fee of $51.59.

Another California pepper and 2 palms received severe haircuts here

This is an old photo of the house down the street from me with the wide expanses of Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) and succulents.  (The agaves are much taller now.)  I expected the Fire Department inspector to order removal or at least a hard cutback of the grass nearest to the front of the house but all of it is untouched.  Their Pampas grass is also untouched.

A landscaper took measurements of the front area of this property a year ago and I've been looking forward to seeing a garden emerge ever since.  One large Yucca elephantipes was removed several months ago and bags of rock were dropped off but nothing has happened since.  The large shrubs by the house could use a trim but I'm guessing there may be nearly a 5 foot space between them and the house and thus didn't trigger a citation. 

This neighbor pruned a tree and cleared many of their shrubs of pine tree debris but left a lot of the dry needles in place on the ground.  I saw this in another garden too.  According to some online sources, pine needles can ignite even without direct fire exposure.  (You can see more in this video.)

I'll be having many of my trees and several large shrubs pruned as usual this fall.  I'll have the dead Ceanothus arboreus at the bottom of my back slope removed at the same time.  I also plan to dig up the Cistus ladanifer close to the house as soon as I find a replacement as there seems to be general agreement that it's flammability is greater than other Cistus due to the particularly volatile oil in its foliage.  I still have a fair amount of replanting to do as well in the areas I cleared in early May but the remainder of that work is on hold until cooler temperatures return and the prospect of rain is back on the horizon.

I'd like to point out that, if you look into plant flammability, there are a lot of contradictions to be found in the available literature.  I've pulled a variety of lists for reference in making my own judgments but it's maddening at times.  I can only hope that there'll be more scientific study in this area, especially given the increasing risk of wildfire as our climate continues to warm.   Should you have an interest in the subject, here are links to just a few resources I found:

• O'Connell Landscape (Marin, California) - Favorite fire safe plant list
• Kensington Fire (Berkeley, California) - Drought tolerant, fire resistant, and highly flammable plant list
• California Native Plant List (San Diego County, California) - Suggested plants for defensible space

For those of us in California, the impact of the "zone zero" legislation (Assembly Bill 3074) is still pending.  The State Board of Forestry has been assigned the task of developing guidelines for its implementation, which would restrict the use of combustible materials within five feet of residential structures in high fire risk areas.  When those guidelines are developed and approved, they'll immediately apply to all new structures.  I've heard they'll be applied to existing residences within one to three years (depending upon the source you consult).  There's some controversy over the value of the "zone zero" approach but, if adopted, my guess is that insurance companies presented with decisions about renewing fire insurance policies may require it.  A couple views on the "zone zero" approach can be found here and here.

Fun, huh?!  Best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party