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“Living
with Wildfire: Reducing
Property Risks, Habitat Losses, and
Costs”
Course
description:
This course is offered for
homeowners, homeowners' associations, local businesses, and
community leaders who need to better understand the benefits
of managing defensible space and natural habitats, removing
combustible materials from their homesite, designing and maintaining
ignition-resistant structures, and working together to increase
public safety.
The 2007 wildfires are vivid reminders that we live in a
fire-adapted place; that risks of structural losses can be greatly
reduced (but not to zero); and that nature is both powerful and
fragile. Emphasis on
building codes, brush reduction codes, and public education since
2003 likely limited property and human losses this time—and most
houses still ignited from wind-driven embers.
Learn about the
physics of fire behavior, the ecology of southern California’s
fire regimes, and how they relate to structure ignition and property
losses. Understand the reasons behind local codes for building
ignition-resistant structures and managing 100-foot defensible
space, and the costs of excessive vegetation reduction. Get
clear examples of building design, exterior materials, landscaping
practices, and quick-low-cost property maintenance and modifications
to reduce property risks. This three-hour course
covers the same subjects as the four-hour course for professionals,
although in less detail.
It was initially developed after the 2003 wildfires (now
modified to reflect the 2007 wildfires), funded by the Joint Fire
Sciences fire research programs (Federal) and produced by the San
Diego Natural History Museum, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
FireSafe Councils of San Diego, and 30 local
experts.
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