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SANTA LUCIA PRESERVE DEFENSIBLE SPACE
Preparing for Wildfire on a Community Level
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LOT-SPECIFIC FUEL MANAGEMENT ZONES
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Santa Lucia Preserve Fuel Management Standards
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Wood mulch was removed and will be replaced with gravel. Vines were removed and trees trimmed away from exposed eaves.
Grass was mowed, trees were limbed up and manzanita was trimmed back.
OAK SAVANNA ZONE
To a distance of 150 feet from structures.
Oak savannas consist of scattered oaks growing within a grassy understory, and both trees and grass should be maintained to provide a vertical separation between the ground and the tree canopy. According to fire behavior predictions, many areas of oak savanna are expected to produce flame lengths less than 4 feet before treatment. Mowing grass under and around trees reduces fire intensity and rate of spread of fire to an acceptable level, and diminishes the possibility that fire can climb into tree canopy. Pruning the small lower tree branches, as noted below, will reduce the possibility fire can spread into the tree crowns. Woody weed species such as French broom, poison hemlock and thistles must be completely removed annually.
The remaining piles of dead vegetation (on right), were chipped on site after this photo was taken.
OAK/SHRUB WOODLAND ZONE
To a distance of 200 feet from structures.
The goal of the following treatment is to facilitate the conversion from a transitional woodland /shrubland vegetation type, into a more fire-safe oak woodland with an understory consisting of grass, herb or other low-growing fire-resistant plants.
A before and after comparison of implimentig a lot-specific fuel management plan at The Preserve.
CHAPARRAL ZONE
All shrubs within chaparral must be thinned or mowed within 200 feet of structures.
Chaparral composed of broad-leafed shrubs and bushes that form dense thickets, is an important habitat type on the Santa Lucia Preserve. This habitat type burns with great intensity and it poses a high fire hazard to adjacent structures. When mowed or burned woody shrubs in this habitat type resprout from the root system and require regular treatment to manage fire risk. In this vegetation type, defensible space is created by maintaining well-spaced chaparral shrubs that are short-stature, with succulent young vegetation, and no dead branches. Shrubs should not be allowed to grow above 2.5 ft height (usually 5 years or less) before being re-treated.
Emily Aiken, Preserve Fire & Fuels Management Specialist