 |
March
2009 | Carol Kerridge,
El Amigo

See
by Leslie Ann Woollenweber's
photos
of
the March 22 brush cleanup
in Crest Canyon.
Remember
the time when
most of us had never
heard of Witch Creek?
Almost a year and
a half ago, a small
fire ignited in that
dry creek. Fanned
by voracious Santa
Ana winds, it grew
into a major firestorm
and within 24 hours
spread almost 50 miles
west. Its flying embers,
caught by dry vegetation,
combustible roofs,
fences and anything
else in its path,
ignited and destroyed
hundreds of homes
and was finally contained
as the winds subsided
only 5 miles from
Del Mar’s
border. Del Mar activated
our Emergency Operations
Center and many of
our residents were
asked to evacuate.
Those who remained
in town mostly remained
inside because of
the smoke, soot and
flying ash that permeated
our air for a couple
of days. The Del Mar
Fairgrounds became
a major evacuation
center temporarily
housing thousands
of evacuees. Remember
Witch Creek now?
Following
this major event, we
all made promises to
clean our gutters, trim
our trees, clear out
the brush in our canyons
and be much more vigilant
in reducing the risks
of fire in our homes,
yards and neighborhoods.
Our City government
has also been hard at
work fulfilling promises
and requests that were
decided upon soon after
that firestorm. Last
July, our City Council
adopted the updated
Wildland-Urban Interface
Code. This updated code
gives many more specific
recommendations for
reducing risk in neighborhoods
and nearby contours
and canyons. The City
Council has modified
the Fire Code to require
all existing shake-shingle
roofs be replaced by
July 2013, and all new
homes be protected by
an automatic fire sprinkler
system.
Soon
after the devastating
fires in Oct ’07,
Cal-Fire (the new title
for California Department
of Forestry) evaluated
all cities in California
for degree of fire risk,
accessibility, topography,
vegetation, etc. They
mandated that each City
enforce the “100
ft. defensible space” guideline
for homes that border
canyons and are in the
Wildland-Urban Interface
area. In Del Mar, they
identified 349 homes
that are at greatest
risk within 400 ft.
of the west side of
Crest Canyon and have
asked each of these
home owners to undergo
an exterior fire inspection.
This past September,
Del Mar re-hired newly
retired Capt. Tom Wolf
as a part-time fire
inspector to oversee
the project. A perfect
choice for the job,
Tom was a member of
the Del Mar Fire Dept
for 35 yrs. prior to
retiring and is very
familiar with Del Mar.
He reports that the
inspections have been
very successful -- only
33 more homes to complete
-- and that most residents
have been helpful and
cooperative. He is leading
the effort to reduce
the fuels on the western
edge of Crest Canyon
through volunteer efforts;
however no work can
be done after March
1, 2009 as it is the
beginning of the breeding
season for the California
Gnatcatchers. The Gnatcatchers
are a federally listed,
threatened species of
songbirds who make their
home in the CA southern
coastal areas.
Isn’t
it commendable that
so much has been accomplished?
Our town seems quite
a bit more safe and
the Gnatcatchers can
come home to their familiar
Crest Canyon.
See
by Leslie Ann Woollenweber's
photos of the brush
cleanup in Crest Canyon. |
 |