Eco-tip: From brush to mulch, with fire safety in mind

I love my landscape, but it seems important to prepare for drought and fire danger.

That is why I use mulch to maintain soil moisture and prevent weeds, and I keep the mulch at least 5 feet away from the walls of my house.

About six months ago, I also told my wife that anything we plant from now on has to be fire safe and has to produce food in order to earn its water.

She had a strong counter argument: “But we need to plant flowers for the bees.”

I agreed, and before I could object, she scattered seeds over a wide swath of our hillside. Last season’s rains and irrigation of adjacent fruit trees combined to supercharge the growth of those flowering plants, most to more than 3 feet high.

A few months ago, the Ventura Fire Department sent me a letter. By the beginning of July, the hillside had to be clear of "brush” over 4 inches high. Embarrassed and eager to avoid threats of enforcement, we filled subsequent weeks of curbside yard waste carts with pulled plants to meet the deadline.

For more complicated brush clearance and other matters of fire safety, local fire safe councils provide assistance ranging from expert advice to grant-funded programs. For example, earlier this year, the Ventu Park Fire Safe Council and Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council sponsored a free community chipper day during which residents hauled their green waste to a central location to be turned into mulch.

Wood mulch in “Zone Zero,” within 5 feet of a house, can pose a danger, as can too much mulch in Zone 1, up to 30 feet from structures and decks. But strategically placed mulch in Zone 1 and beyond retains soil moisture and suppresses weeds.

Following their May 2024 Ondulando Firewise Community curbside chipper event, the Ventura Regional council donated a full truckload of wood chips to the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast and Ventura County Resource Conservation District, depositing these chips at Camp Arnaz for a butterfly restoration garden, according to Stephen Watson, the council's executive director.

Communities can collaborate with a council to host their own chipper events, benefiting from some of the councils’ experience in securing grant funding and managing logistics, data collection, chip reuse options and community engagement. Firewise USA-recognized communities have priority for some funding sources, and local councils can help communities apply for Firewise USA recognition. Steps and sample documents for this recognition can be found at venturafiresafe.org.

The Ventura Regional council and the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency plan to develop a vetted contractor list for chipper operators. This list of experienced operators, available by 2025, will “reduce yet another barrier homeowners face when attempting to make their property more resilient to wildfire,” according to Watson.

The C.R.E.W., an acronym for Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers, is a nonprofit based in the Ojai Valley with significant experience turning cleared brush into mulch. With help from grants provided by Cal Fire and the California Fire Safe Council, the group has cleared nearly 350 acres of hazardous vegetation, chipped over 22 tons of material and provided chipping/brush clearance services to 400 properties, according to Greta Charness, the nonprofit's development assistant.

The C.R.E.W. is currently working with the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council to provide free services to Ventura County residents who are located in fire hazard severity zones, are veterans or face significant barriers to making fire safe changes on their own, including physical or financial barriers.

The organization’s website, at crewojai.org, has a "chipping" link where qualified residents can sign up for curbside chipping service and find out about upcoming drop-off chipping events. The next event will be August 17. See the website for a list of acceptable materials and other rules.

The five fire safe councils in Ventura County are Ventura Regional, Ojai Valley, Bell Canyon, Oak Park and Ventu Park. Contact the one in your area for help making mulch from overgrown trees and brush.

David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.