Woodside council wants quick action on fire management plan Woodside council wants quick action on fire management plan (November 05, 2003)

By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer

Woodside's fire management plan couldn't have had a more timely release. As wildfires raged unchecked across Southern California, the Woodside Town Council endorsed consultants' recommendations for lessening the town's sizable wildfire risk at the October 28 meeting. Although council members raised concerns about a couple of recommendations restricting building on steep slopes, the main message was this: What can we do, and how soon can we get it done?

"Hopefully the weather will change soon, and we will get through another year. It's just [due to] luck and the good Lord that we're not in the same boat as the folks down south," said Councilman Joe Putnam.

Woodside is home to many of the most dangerous fire conditions. Buildings are tucked into heavily wooded, natural landscapes, many on steep slopes and accessible only by narrow, winding roads, and there is an abundance of dense, dry vegetation.

"You have a hazardous situation. You're listed in a national report as one of the high-hazard areas," warned consultant William Neville of Neville Associates.

A retired fire chief, Mr. Neville said that the town needs to be a role model for its residents and institute a regular maintenance program for public right-of-ways and town-owned properties.

The town and the Woodside Fire Protection District need to cooperate better to make sure that residents are taking care of fire hazards on private property, Mr. Neville said. His report singles out dangerous conditions on private property as the greatest fire risk facing Woodside.

"We fully realize that we have a problem with vegetation management," said Woodside fire Chief Mike Fuge.

However, the problem is not so much people who aren't following rules, as the rules themselves. In the past five years, district officials have had to take action against only one or two property owners for not complying with fire prevention regulations, Chief Fuge said. Although people often point out the hazardous-looking eucalyptus groves on the Fleishhacker estate, where an August 2002 fire was sparked by a eucalyptus branch falling onto a power line, the owners aren't scofflaws, he said.

"The Fleishhacker estate is a perfect example," said Chief Fuge. "They've done more than is required."

The fire district has the expertise to identify problems, but lacks the authority to do much more than encourage homeowners to comply, said Town Manager Susan George. If the fire district will provide regular reports, the town can use its nuisance abatement proceedings to force recalcitrant homeowners to clean up dangerous conditions.

"Obviously there's no quick, magic fix," said Mr. Putnam. "In order to lower our risk as quickly as possible and mitigate a lot of the danger, what would you do?"

The most important step is to educate residents, officials and staff about wildfire danger, teaching people about everything from fire-resistant plants to maintaining a defensible space around homes, Mr. Neville responded. Town officials should apply for grant money to clear overgrown vegetation and consider participating in educational Firewise Communities workshops.

Woodside officials should do more than just enforce current rules -- they need to consider changing the regulations that conflict with good fire management practices, he said.

"We'd like to see a long and hard review of your building codes," said Mr. Neville.

He mentioned building regulations governing steeply sloping properties and driveways, as well as some regarding landscape screening. He also questioned why the town allowed flammable roofing material on horse barns larger than 1,000 square feet.

Councilman Pete Sinclair questioned the recommendation to limit driveways to a 10 percent grade, rather than the town's current 20 percent limit, saying it was infeasible in areas where the roads themselves have far more than 10 percent grade.

According to Mr. Neville, the angle of approach on steep driveways won't allow fire trucks to pass.

"The front bumper will hit," he said. "Twenty percent is kind of outrageous. Fifteen percent is pushing it."

Mayor Sue Boynton, who is the council's liaison on fire management, said the council needs to hear from residents about all parts of the fire management plan before deciding that some of the recommendations won't work.

"I encourage the council to look at the whole strategic plan, and to look at the zoning. If the public decides it can't live with this, then so be it," Ms. Boynton said.

Several council members said that the town needs to eliminate the need for permits for removing flammable, non-native trees such as eucalyptus and acacia, apparently forgetting that the council had already done exactly that.

"You told us to change it, and we did, a year ago," said Ms. George. "You don't need anything; you can just remove them."

On the council's direction, Ms. George said she would start implementing some of the report's recommendations that could be done at staff level, and would come up with a timeline for addressing the ones that need council approval. A status report is scheduled for the November 25 council meeting.