Morongo Valley firefighters stopped a residential fire before it was able to cause any property damage Wednesday afternoon (August 4). According to Morongo Valley Firefighter paramedic Nate Garcia, crews were called to the 9900 block of East Drive around 4 p.m. for the fire, which was caused by sunlight being magnified off of the highly-reflective siding of a building on the property. Fire crews quicky extinguished the small patch of debris near the building. Situations like this demonstrate the importance of having a defensible fire space around your property. Sara Snyder tells us more…
A defensible space around your property is your home’s best defense against wildfire. Creating and maintaining a defensible space around your home can also help protect firefighters who are defending your property. To better protect your home from wildfires, remove all dead plants, grass, leaves, and pine needles from your yard for at least 30 feet from your home and make sure all vegetation between 30 and 100 feet from your home is cut or mowed to a maximum height of four inches. Trim tree branches so they are at least 10 feet from each other, and from your chimney and roof, and make sure branches are at least six feet off the ground. Remove or prune plants that are near windows. Woodpiles should be stacked at least 30 feet away from buildings. For more fire safety tips, see the link below.
https://cms.sbcounty.gov/lus/FireHazardAbatement/ProtectYourHome.aspx
