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LAGUNA BEACH’S NATURAL HABITATS ARE ALSO…


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LAGUNA BEACH’S NATURAL HABITATS ARE ALSO A HUGE FIRE RISK, THE CITY HAS PLANS TO
MAKE THEM SAFER


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Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA is one area that has been targeted for fuel
modification. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan
in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall
plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the
canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
By Erika I. Ritchie | eritchie@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: March 31, 2022 at 1:49 p.m. | UPDATED: March 31, 2022 at 1:49 p.m.

Southern maritime chaparral, large swaths of coastal sage and tall grasses
create a beautiful mosaic, that in many areas creeps dangerously close to homes
overlooking Hobo and Aliso canyons along an interior ridgeline in Laguna Beach.

Though the rugged, undisturbed cliffs and canyons are what many residents in the
seaside town adore, the terrain and vegetation are also what put Laguna Beach at
extreme fire risk – Cal Fire has designated the community and its surrounding
16,000 acres of open space as a “very high fire hazard severity zone.”

Previous

A hawk soars over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA on Friday, March 25, 2022. The
Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan in which the city
will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall plants by 50% in
an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by
Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Laguna Beach Fire Chief Mike Garcia looks over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA
on Friday, March 25, 2022. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel
modification plan in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants
and thin the overall plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of
properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County
Register/SCNG)

Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA is one area that has been targeted for fuel
modification. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan
in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall
plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the
canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA is one area that has been targeted for fuel
modification. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan
in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall
plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the
canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A hawk soars over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA on Friday, March 25, 2022. The
Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan in which the city
will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall plants by 50% in
an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by
Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A hawk soars over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA on Friday, March 25, 2022. The
Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan in which the city
will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall plants by 50% in
an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by
Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Laguna Beach Fire Chief Mike Garcia looks over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA
on Friday, March 25, 2022. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel
modification plan in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants
and thin the overall plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of
properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County
Register/SCNG)

Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA is one area that has been targeted for fuel
modification. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan
in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall
plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the
canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA is one area that has been targeted for fuel
modification. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan
in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall
plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the
canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A hawk soars over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA on Friday, March 25, 2022. The
Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan in which the city
will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall plants by 50% in
an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by
Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A hawk soars over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA on Friday, March 25, 2022. The
Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel modification plan in which the city
will clear dead plants, non-native plants and thin the overall plants by 50% in
an area that is within 100 feet of properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by
Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Next

Show Caption

1 of 5

Laguna Beach Fire Chief Mike Garcia looks over Hobo Canyon in Laguna Beach, CA
on Friday, March 25, 2022. The Coastal Commission approved a permanent fuel
modification plan in which the city will clear dead plants, non-native plants
and thin the overall plants by 50% in an area that is within 100 feet of
properties overlooking the canyon. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County
Register/SCNG)

Expand

So getting the California Coastal Commission’s recent approval of a less
invasive, but still effective plan for pruning the two canyons of some of that
natural fire fuel is key, local officials said.

The Laguna Beach Fire Department, its wildfire defense consultant and the Laguna
Canyon Foundation, which dedicates itself to preserving the community’s natural
areas, collaborated to develop the plan to remove 50% of brush, bushes and
grasses in an environmentally friendly way and create a 100-foot perimeter
between the canyons and the homes.



“This is the most sensibly designed fuel modification plan I’ve ever seen in the
state,” said Jack Ainsworth, executive director of the Coastal Commission.

“We’ve been working on this for years,” he said about the back-and-forth over
how to protect nature and prevent fires. “I think we’ve landed on a mitigation
ratio that is completely fair. It should be used as a model across the state.”

The two canyons include native vegetation that support birds such as the coastal
California gnatcatcher and Bell’s vireo and plants such as the big-leaved
crownbeard, all three of which are state and federally-listed threatened
species.

While protecting those habitats, the plan will still create much-needed
defensible space so firefighters can do their jobs and residents have a better
chance to escape in a firestorm, officials said.

City officials have spent about a decade getting this permanent permit from the
Coastal Commission for brush clearing in the canyons. Starting in 2015, fire
officials secured emergency permits to remove some of the brush, and getting
those permits had been difficult, officials said.



In 2019, the Laguna Beach City Council launched an analysis of the community’s
fire risks and earmarked $21 million to start tackling an action plan to ensure
the city, its 23,000 residents and nearly 7 million annual visitors are as safe
as possible. The fire department was tasked with identifying more areas where
fuel modification could be done.

“The goal is to get a fire break all around our city,” Fire Chief Mike Garcia
said during a recent tour of the canyons area with Mayor Sue Kempf. “And, we’re
close to getting that.”

In Aliso and Hobo canyons, there are about 12 acres over two zones that will be
thinned out: east of Barracuda Way and Loretta Drive and north of Marilyn Drive
and Driftwood Drive. Hand crews and goats will clear the vegetation.

First, all non-native vegetation and dead or dying plants will be removed.
Trimming of woody native species will occur only if the 50% thinning threshold
hasn’t already been achieved. Shrubs taller than six feet will be pruned to
decrease “fuel ladders,” where flames can leap from plant to plant.

Hand crews using chainsaws will do most of the work, and only about an acre will
be grazed by goats.

A Laguna Canyon Foundation biologist will visit each work area 48 hours ahead of
vegetation clearing to make sure there are no raptor or other birds’ nests. They
will also look for sensitive plant species such as the big-leaved crowned beard,
a woody shrub with bright yellow flowers, to be avoided. The biologist will be
present during the plant removal and also keep an eye on possible erosion
issues, officials said.

The areas being treated will be staked and will include animal
migration-friendly fencing.

Getting this vegetation cleared could reduce flame heights by 75% and limit a
fire’s speed, Garcia said.

“If we came here on a high wind (red flag) day with unmodified fuel, we’d have
to give up on certain homes because we couldn’t defend them,” Garcia said.
“Doing this allows helicopters, planes and firefighters to have a more
significant effect. We need to do what we can to provide the greatest level of
protection.”

Still, the additional focus on the environment comes with a greater price tag.
While the typical fuel modification project in the state costs between $3,500
and $5,000 an acre, efforts to reduce fuel in Laguna Beach are costing about
$32,000 an acre. At present, about 350 acres in the city are under fuel
modification management.

During the Coastal Commission meeting, Councilman George Weiss, speaking as a
resident, not as a city representative, cautioned the commissioners to keep the
additional costs in mind when looking at fuel modification plans elsewhere.

“This needs to be done very softly with a gentle touch,” he said. “Laguna Beach
is spending a lot of money on this.”

February’s Emerald fire, fueled by high winds, quickly burned through 145 acres,
getting very near homes in North Laguna.  The extensive fuel modification that’s
done each year behind Emerald Bay and Irvine Cove made a significant difference,
Garcia said.

And the fire has certainly been a reminder to the community about the threat of
fire in its natural areas, Kempf said. With Councilman Bob Whalen, she was part
of a sub-committee that helped put together the 2019 fire mitigation report.

“Since I’ve been on council, the most feedback I’ve gotten is about the fire in
Emerald Bay,” she said. “There’s very much a heightened awareness, it really
woke people up in terms of vulnerability.”

Garcia, 57, who came to Laguna Beach after a 28-year career in Long Beach
recently announced he will retire as the fire chief on July 1. He said he still
recalls flying over the city when he took the position in April 2018 to get an
understanding of what was needed to make a fire-prone community safer.

Education on the importance of creating a defensible space is one of the things
he’s focused on.

He said while he understands the community’s desire to protect the town’s unique
appearance, he explained why some vegetation presented greater hazards and how
not removing it could cause the community to lose exactly the look that makes
Laguna Beach so special.

Two years after Garcia took his position, he asked residents to take personal
responsibility to protect their community by clearing vegetation away from their
homes and creating more defensible space. While there is no city law requiring
all property owners clear space, there is now a state one if their home is going
up for sale.


RELATED LINKS

 * Laguna Beach fire chief calls for residents to better prepare homes as fires
   blaze across the state
 * Laguna Beach approves first phase of potential $166 million wildfire
   mitigation plan
 * New Laguna Beach fire chief welcomed in ceremony after leading fight against
   weekend blaze
 * Laguna Beach simplifies ways for homeowners to create fire-safe landscapes
 * Emerald fire stirs memories of ’93 Laguna Beach inferno

“It is also something insurance companies desire and in some cases demand to see
in a community with fire risk such as Laguna Beach,” he said.

Looking back Garcia credited the city manager and council for their support in
gearing up Laguna Beach’s efforts to prevent the wildfire destruction that’s
been seen in the past.

“It’s nice being a fire chief in a town where you don’t have to guess,” he said.
“It’s crystal clear on what needs to be done here.”


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ERIKA I. RITCHIE | REPORTER

Erika Ritchie reports on South Orange County coastal communities, military
issues and Camp Pendleton for the OC Register. She explores everything from
coastal access, environmental issues and marine life to city government, animal
welfare and quality of life. She’s won many awards including first place in news
(2016) by the Orange County Press Club for her coverage of record numbers of
whale entanglements off the California coast. Erika’s covered military change of
command and seen military affairs firsthand from the sea aboard a battleship,
air from a MV-22 Osprey, and land including Pendleton’s International war games
and San Clemente Island’s ordnance ranges. Journalism allows Erika’s penchant
for telling human stories of conflict, struggle and joy. Her monthly Everyday
Hero feature does just that, highlighting achievements of some of Orange
County’s most dedicated volunteers and non-profit leaders. Since joining the
Register in 2001, she’s at times covered every city in South Orange County
delving into development, housing, transportation, county government and social
issues. She’s often written about Saddleback Church and Pastor Rick Warren’s
emerging national and global roles. Erika’s passionate about animals and outdoor
adventure. She runs, stand-up paddles and skis - both alpine and x-country. She
frequents Mammoth Lakes and Mountain for hiking, biking & skiing and for her
dogs to frolic in the snow and lakes. She grew up bilingual in German and
conversational in French.
eritchie@scng.com


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