Further steps to manage our fire risk

"Zone zero" is back in the news here.  California passed its "zone zero" law in 2020 with the intention of creating five feet of "ember-resistant" areas surrounding homes located in very high fire risk areas.   The State's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection was tasked with creating regulations and timelines for implementing the law by January 2023.  That due date came and went as discussions moved to the back burner.  I vaguely recall some general discussion of the topic back then but the wildfires in Southern California in January reignited the sense of urgency to publish the regulations and get moving on implementing them in 2026.  However, according to an article published in the in the Los Angeles Times on November 3rd, the discussion remains heated and the current deadline of December 31, 2025 is likely to be missed once again.  Among other things, critics believe the emphasis on healthy, well-irrigated plants may be overblown and actions to harden homes would be more meaningful.  They point out that there's little scientific research to demonstrate which actions with respect to plants are effective in controlling ignitions of home structures.  In addition, while it could be relatively easy to regulate landscaping around new homes, it could be difficult to impose the same regulations on existing homeowners who could face significant financial burdens to alter their hardscaping and landscapes.

I recently learned that my own house is in a "green" zone due to a reappraisal of fire risk zones in my area.  At present, our property isn't subject to any regulations the State eventually adopts, which I assume includes those related to "zone zero."  So why do I care about the pending regulations?  I care because some homes in my own neighborhood do fall into high risk zones and it's hard to understand how fires affecting homes within a few minutes walking distance wouldn't present a real threat to my own home.  In addition, I've seen what wildfires can do.  My in-laws lost their home of twenty years to a wildfire in 1993.  And I'm nervous every time residents living around us set off illegal fireworks.

According to the LA Times article, even "zone zero" critics agree on certain aspects of the regulations under discussion, including the need to remove wooden structures attached to a house.  We previously removed a wooden arbor on the south side of our house but this week my husband and I agreed to address two other such structures.  The fence bisecting the north side of our garden is the first of these.

I thought my husband was going to contact the contractor we used when we renovated our house in 2019 to seek help or a referral to do the work but, just an hour or so after we spoke, I discovered he's already jumped in and started on the fence!

The fence's gate and its connection to the house is gone but the effort involved reinforced the need for outside help with removing the rest of the fence and the second project

The fence itself is beefier than it may look at first glance.  There are multiple posts backed by wood planks on both sides.

These photos show the new views without the gate.  The one on the left is looking roughly northwest into my cutting garden.  The one on the right shows the east side area looking at the spa with a view of the Port of Los Angeles in the distance.

This is what's left of the gate and the boards that had connected the fence to the house itself

Views of the west and east sides of the fence that remains.  At its end, our fence connects to another wood fence that separates our property from than of our neighbor on the north side,

Blending the cutting garden with the north-side dry garden may be a challenge, albeit not insurmountable.  My most immediate concern is whether the 2 tall Leptospermum 'Pink Pearl' shrubs can remain there.  I love them but they'll look even more awkward with the fence gone.  As it is, they already crowd with the persimmon tree (Diospyros 'Fuyu') on the west side of the fence.

The other area of concern is the arbor attached to the front of the house.

Our contractor argued in favor of taking this arbor down when we renovated the house in 2019 but I objected because I felt it provided a sense of enclosure.  It offers a little shade but no real cover from the elements.

 

My husband sees signs of rot in the wood and, when I looked at the overhead beams I was surprised to see what I believe is lichen growing on them

The wood mulch surrounding the Magnolia tree in the front garden should probably go too, although some critics question the necessity of that.  There was grass there when we moved it but it didn't thrive even with the heavy watering the prior owner gave it and we took it all out.  I've tried a couple of groundcovers there with limited success as competition with the tree's roots is fierce.

Photo of the area in question taken in early October.  Before I take the step of hauling in gravel, maybe I'll try adding something like Carex divulsa (aka woodland sedge) in spots there first.

I'm not entirely happy with the area I cleared at the back of our house outside the living and dining room windows earlier this year; however, I've finished tweaking it for the time being.  As the plants settle in and fill out, I may feel better about it.

I added more succulents; replanted the Helleborus 'Phoebe' that'd been choked out by a massive Arthropodium cirratum; added one of the divisions from that Arthropodoium; and planted a few more burgundy-flowered ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Meanwhile, I continue to be plagued by critters doing their own work in my garden.

While the skunk hasn't been since Halloween, the raccoons are back digging up my beds and stealing persimmon fruit.  My cat alerted me to their return Monday night and I thought I'd chased them away but I was wrong.  The 'Fuyu' persimmons are all but gone but I've been harvesting the prolific 'Hachiya' persimmons in hope of giving them away.  The raccoons decided that dumping the first bucket I'd collected was easier than climbing the tree.

And the gophers have returned to the back garden now that all my old sonic devices are dead.  I've thrown balls of nasty-smelling gopher repellent into the holes but I probably need more of those and possibly a few new sonic devices to send them elsewhere. Where are the coyotes when they could be helpful?!

As may be apparent, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment.

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