Workshop teaches fire prevention
'It's not a question of if the wildland will burn, but when.' - Valerie Barel UC Extension
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Residents are invited to attend a free "SAFE Landscapes" workshop this Saturday in Malibu.

The program is designed to show people who live near the Santa Monica Mountains how to create sustainable and fire-safe landscaping. It is being hosted by the University of California Cooperative Extension, a Los Angeles County division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The Nov. 17 workshop is at the Michael Landon Community Center at Malibu Bluffs Park in Malibu and will run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"If you live in this area, it's not a question of if the wildland will burnbut when, and the next few years are expected to be some of the worst on record," said Valerie Borel, the director of the extension program.

Borel said the workshop will discuss techniques on planting and maintenance and which building materials to use to help minimize the threat of fire.

Experts from the extension program, firefighters and wildland managers will discuss "defensible space," vegetation management and invasive plants. Participants will receive a SAFE Landscapes guidebook and calendar, she said.

Don Wallace, a retired fire captain and resident of the Cold Creek/Monte Nido area of Calabasas, said as he watched the recent Malibu wildfire he couldn't help but compare the blaze to the wildfires of 1993. More than 360 homes were lost in 1993 compared to only nine buildings last month, he said.

"The wind speed in the two fires was similar, firefighting deployment about the same, but L.A. County Fire (Department) has strengthened and more effective enforcement of brush clearance laws since the '93 fire," Wallace said.

"Fuel modification and enforcement made the difference. This workshop will provide residents the tools and knowledge to sustain the loss prevention gains made since the devastation of 1993," Wallace said.

The workshop is free, but registration is required. For further information or to register, call Borel at (323) 260-3851 or e-mail vtborel@ucdavis.edu.