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Will San Diegans trim their trees right?
Silviculture could do a lot with our canyon brush
"It’s cheaper because we don’t have to carry out chopped down vegetation."
There's something missing in San Diego's fire prevention arsenal, say advocates of a little-known practice called silviculture.
It's a fuel reduction method that draws on techniques to thin and manage forests, such as trimming the sides of trees and brush then packing the chopped up piles into the ground as mulch.
While that may sound like something San Diego is already doing, supporters say it goes beyond the city's main brush management strategy: requiring private landowners to clear 100 feet of defensible space and five feet of hardscape around structures.
"The 100-foot defensible space is not nearly adequate and it's probably got 20 percent compliance citywide," said Moshe Krafchow, the San Carlos owner of Tree Culture, at a meeting of the public safety committee last week.
One speaker who lives a mile from the Rancho Bernardo fire that occurred that day, described difficulty getting neighbors to follow the defensible space regulation or the city to respond to complaints.
Black Mountain, Ruffin Canyon, Rose Canyon, along the San Diego River, and many more "are simply kindling waiting for a cigarette butt."
Another remarked that Black Mountain, Ruffin Canyon, Rose Canyon, along the San Diego River, and many more "are simply kindling waiting for a cigarette butt."
Amid a budget deficit of over $250 million, fire-rescue officials said they are understaffed, a situation reflected in a 2023 brush management audit that called on the fire department to monitor city-owned land proactively for compliance of brush management regulations.
Given the recent spate of fires in Rancho Bernardo, Fashion Valley, and Scripps Ranch, officials cited grim numbers: only .16 inches of rain so far when the typical average is over four inches. It makes a substantial difference in flammability, they said.
And the area is riddled with steep, brushy slopes and ridges. "We have 46,000 acres in the city on the canyon rim in the very high fire severity zone," said deputy fire chief Tony Tosca.
So, fire staff has the huge task of going door to door to find out if people are complying with brush management.
There is also the real estate defensible space inspection program (to check compliance when a property is sold); a weed abatement vacant lot program that sends out annual notices; and the weed abatement and brush complaint program which covers both private and city-owned property and is an easy way to find out if land is city or privately owned, fire officials said.
Grant-funded projects have involved city-owned open space for brush management; an EPA approved fuel treatment that sprayed 46 acres of evacuation corridors; and fuel reductions for 32 acres in the city (evacuation routes from the city to the county). The department plans to hire staff who can identify areas of the city to focus on.
In July, a new service will offer a defensible space course that gives the zone zero (an "ember-resistant" zone), defensible space, and information "to make the home hardened or insurable, which is more survivable."
Chris Pearson, a member of Spring Valley Community Planning Group, commented that those efforts are all good, "but please add silviculture to the list."
In work he once did with then Park & Rec's Chris Zirkle, "Chris administered contracts to Alpha Project and Aztec Landscaping clear cutting. The invasives grew back every two years." In other work with San Diego canyonlands in City Heights, he replaced invasives with seedlings from nurseries that died if not watered every three years. "We can do better."
Silviculture is a cost-effective way to reduce fuel load, he said.
"It’s cheaper because we don’t have to carry out chopped down vegetation" or repeat every two years like clear cutting. It’s better than replanting because it builds up the soil and allows native seedlings to spring up naturally, reducing the need for nursery plants and frequent watering.
"Unfortunately, few people know about or have even heard of silviculture, much less inspected an actual site."
As Krafchowif explained, once the dry fuels are down, distributed and compacted on the ground, the fires cannot get that large. "That's what a silviculture management plan does."
Its methods are currently being used by researchers at San Diego State University's Institute for Ecological Monitoring, in efforts to save southern California's mountain forest. But is it a good strategy for San Diego's brushy canyons, its public and private lands laced throughout neighborhoods around the county?
Krafchowif, who has several demonstration sites around the county, including 67 acres on Palomar Mountain, thinks it is — even if the city has yet to agree.
"I've been trying and banging on doors for years and I was just told this is not how we do it."
Here's something you might be interested in.
Will San Diegans trim their trees right?
Silviculture could do a lot with our canyon brush
Will San Diegans trim their trees right?
Silviculture could do a lot with our canyon brush
"It’s cheaper because we don’t have to carry out chopped down vegetation."
There's something missing in San Diego's fire prevention arsenal, say advocates of a little-known practice called silviculture.
It's a fuel reduction method that draws on techniques to thin and manage forests, such as trimming the sides of trees and brush then packing the chopped up piles into the ground as mulch.
While that may sound like something San Diego is already doing, supporters say it goes beyond the city's main brush management strategy: requiring private landowners to clear 100 feet of defensible space and five feet of hardscape around structures.
"The 100-foot defensible space is not nearly adequate and it's probably got 20 percent compliance citywide," said Moshe Krafchow, the San Carlos owner of Tree Culture, at a meeting of the public safety committee last week.
One speaker who lives a mile from the Rancho Bernardo fire that occurred that day, described difficulty getting neighbors to follow the defensible space regulation or the city to respond to complaints.
Black Mountain, Ruffin Canyon, Rose Canyon, along the San Diego River, and many more "are simply kindling waiting for a cigarette butt."
Another remarked that Black Mountain, Ruffin Canyon, Rose Canyon, along the San Diego River, and many more "are simply kindling waiting for a cigarette butt."
Amid a budget deficit of over $250 million, fire-rescue officials said they are understaffed, a situation reflected in a 2023 brush management audit that called on the fire department to monitor city-owned land proactively for compliance of brush management regulations.
Given the recent spate of fires in Rancho Bernardo, Fashion Valley, and Scripps Ranch, officials cited grim numbers: only .16 inches of rain so far when the typical average is over four inches. It makes a substantial difference in flammability, they said.
And the area is riddled with steep, brushy slopes and ridges. "We have 46,000 acres in the city on the canyon rim in the very high fire severity zone," said deputy fire chief Tony Tosca.
So, fire staff has the huge task of going door to door to find out if people are complying with brush management.
There is also the real estate defensible space inspection program (to check compliance when a property is sold); a weed abatement vacant lot program that sends out annual notices; and the weed abatement and brush complaint program which covers both private and city-owned property and is an easy way to find out if land is city or privately owned, fire officials said.
Grant-funded projects have involved city-owned open space for brush management; an EPA approved fuel treatment that sprayed 46 acres of evacuation corridors; and fuel reductions for 32 acres in the city (evacuation routes from the city to the county). The department plans to hire staff who can identify areas of the city to focus on.
In July, a new service will offer a defensible space course that gives the zone zero (an "ember-resistant" zone), defensible space, and information "to make the home hardened or insurable, which is more survivable."
Chris Pearson, a member of Spring Valley Community Planning Group, commented that those efforts are all good, "but please add silviculture to the list."
In work he once did with then Park & Rec's Chris Zirkle, "Chris administered contracts to Alpha Project and Aztec Landscaping clear cutting. The invasives grew back every two years." In other work with San Diego canyonlands in City Heights, he replaced invasives with seedlings from nurseries that died if not watered every three years. "We can do better."
Silviculture is a cost-effective way to reduce fuel load, he said.
"It’s cheaper because we don’t have to carry out chopped down vegetation" or repeat every two years like clear cutting. It’s better than replanting because it builds up the soil and allows native seedlings to spring up naturally, reducing the need for nursery plants and frequent watering.
"Unfortunately, few people know about or have even heard of silviculture, much less inspected an actual site."
As Krafchowif explained, once the dry fuels are down, distributed and compacted on the ground, the fires cannot get that large. "That's what a silviculture management plan does."
Its methods are currently being used by researchers at San Diego State University's Institute for Ecological Monitoring, in efforts to save southern California's mountain forest. But is it a good strategy for San Diego's brushy canyons, its public and private lands laced throughout neighborhoods around the county?
Krafchowif, who has several demonstration sites around the county, including 67 acres on Palomar Mountain, thinks it is — even if the city has yet to agree.
"I've been trying and banging on doors for years and I was just told this is not how we do it."