Bad Brushclearing Bill Could Affect High Desert Areas
April 7th, 2008 Posted by Larry Hogue in Desert Living, Desert PoliticsUPDATE: According to Save the Chaparral, SB 1618 was defeated in Sen. Steinberg’s committee last week. Good work!
A bill in the California Senate would expand authorized brush-clearing for fire prevention around homes from the current 100 feet to anywhere between 300 and a thousand feet. This could affect communities in high desert areas, exposing them to unnecessary dust and pollution and drastically reducing habitat, while doing little to achieve the vital goal of preventing wildfires from reaching homes.
The Chaparral Institute’s Rick Halsey (author of DPC’s Educational Bulletin “Creating a Survivable Space Around Your Home/Fire in the Desert”), along with a large number of firefighting professionals, scientists and naturalists, have sent a letter to State Senator Darrell Steinberg, asking him and his Natural Resources Committee to reject the bill, SB 1618 (Hollingsworth). Halsey closes the letter, “We urge you to reject SB 1618 and affirm the balanced approach to fire risk reduction represented by the currently accepted 100-foot defensible space guidelines, efforts to improve building design, and fire-safe land planning.” The letter also includes a photo showing what 300 feet of clearance looks like.
It’s not too late to contact Senator Steinberg (phone: 916-651-4006; fax: 916-323-2262; website) or your own state senator (look them up here) with a similar message.
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