Since January is most often the month in which we make plans for the year, I would like to suggest some tips for working fire abatement into your year’s activities. People who write books about organizing always tell us to break things up into simple, manageable bits to get started. This helps us over that dreaded mountain of inertia that accompanies the sense of being overwhelmed with a task. Fire abating your property need not be one of life’s big problems. (Re-organizing my office—now that’s a problem.) So here are some simple tips for making sure your home is fire abated by summer.

1. If you don’t know it, learn about the fire abatement code. You can do this in several ways. Find the inspection form that you received last year and review all the boxes. Go online to the CDF site and look for 100’ Defensible Space or PRC 4291. (We have it linked at mcfsc.org) If you would rather speak to someone, call the Idyllwild Fire Department, the Riverside County Fire Departments in Pine Cove, Garner Valley, or Anza, or the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council, and ask them to explain the code.

2. Inspect your property. With the code in mind, make a list of what needs to be done to make it safer. Post the list where you can see it.

3. If you will do the work yourself, check your tools. Make sure they are in good working order. If you need tools, make a list and start shopping. (Note—the most important fire abatement tool for the average homeowner is a rake.)

4. If you are physically able, rake your leaves and needles at least 15 minutes every weekend (assuming good weather) and take them to the transfer station. Don’t try to do it all at once—just do sections around your house.

5. If you are going to pay someone else to do the work, ask your friends or neighbors for the names of reliable people you could hire, and talk to at least one of them.

6. If you will need to have major work done (felling trees, thinning thick shrubs) call the Fire Safe Council (659-6208) to see if we can help through our grant program.

7. Learn more about what it means to live in a western forest. Do an online search for “Fire Adapted Forest” or “Fire Ecology” and bring up what you learn in a conversation with a family member or friend. Though it is not as direct as raking your pine needles, this activity should increase your understanding of why fire abatement in our community is so important. The more you understand our situation, the more you will want to do it.

Remember, you don’t have to do this all at once. Just do something about fire abatement regularly and you will be well on your way to a fire safe home by summer. The important thing is to start. And as winter turns to spring and you hear people talking about inspections and much tougher penalties for those who don’t fire abate, you will feel pleasantly calm and on top of the game.

Mike Esnard, MCFSC President