Resilient Diamond Heights has long advocated for removal of dry brush and dead wood from our neighborhood parks and open spaces. Our concern is that on a hot windy day, a wildfire could get out of control and impact our neighborhood. The following message from Cynthia Woo, former SF Fire Inspector and RDH Steering Committee Member, provides tips for how to prepare homes and businesses for fire danger.
Fire Safety for Residents/Businesses in Wildland-Interface Areas
Most wildfire guidance applicable to San Francisco is from Cal Fire or the Oakland FD, which have more fire prevention and emergency response concerns in wildland-urban interface areas than San Francisco does. Their advice is valid in San Francisco as it is anywhere. However, in a densely populated city, or one where properties are smaller and homes are often close to parks or other vegetation, maintaining clearance can be challenging.
By California law, these principles apply to State Responsibility Areas, those where Cal Fire is the primary agency for fire suppression and prevention. San Francisco is not one of these, but these are good practices that should be followed by City residents or businesses as far as possible.
- Maintain a 30-foot fuel-reduction zone, better known as “defensible space,” around structures. This means keeping a horizontal clear space around fixed installations like buildings or sheds, and removing grass, small shrubs, branches, dead plant material, and any debris that may cause fire to spread to buildings. More clearance may be needed in steep hilly areas, because fire spreads faster upward than on level ground.
- Trees need not be removed entirely, but should be kept pruned to remove limbs lower than 6 feet above ground.
- Tree crowns should be kept pruned for at least 10 feet clearance from buildings, chimneys, or other parts of structures.
- Roofs should be kept clear of combustible plant material, including leaves, twigs, and needles.
- Residences and businesses should have street numbers visible from the street, so emergency responders can find an address at any time of the day or night.
- For concerns about vegetation in city parks that might affect homes or businesses, contact the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department or the non-emergency service center at 311.
- https://sfrecpark.org/415/Contact-Us or phone 415-831-2700
- https://sf311.org/ or phone 311
- For concerns about vegetation on private property that might affect neighboring properties, contact the San Francisco Fire Department Bureau of Fire Prevention or the non-emergency service center at 311.
- https://sf-fire.org/report-fire-safety-concerns-complaints or phone 415-558-3303
- https://sf311.org/ or phone 311
A 2023 report (link below) by the San Francisco Climate and Health Program suggests that wildfires are a lesser concern to us than byproducts of wildfires elsewhere. They impact our health and quality of life, but unlike wildfire prevention in San Francisco, we have no control over them. We recall the “purple air” and “orange skies” from the Tubbs and Camp wildfires of recent years; and the 2024 wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta diminished air quality as far away as Kansas and Missouri. So, as we do all we canto prepare for wildfires, San Francisco residents should also consider ways to protect ourselves and our community from the physical, mental, and psychological effects of wildfires hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
Diamond Heights Community Association 