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Published on 02/08/1999 All articles from this issue

Think fire safety now, say town volunteers

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By Bruce Barton / Town Crier Staff Writer

It's winter, but you won't convince some members of the Los Altos Hills safety committee that town fire prevention isn't an issue of concern.

Fire safety was among the items discussed at the committee's Jan. 13 meeting, according to member Ralph Vetterlein. Though the ground is wet now, Vetterlein said the time for residents to think about clearing brush is now, not four months from now.

"We've got so much tinder out there, you can't believe it," said committee member Tom Turner. Turner's house was one of 11 that burned down in an arson-related blaze during the summer of 1985 along Page Mill and Arastradero roads.

"You have a fire and everyone's aware of the problem," Turner said. "But we haven't had (a major) one for 14 years."

The Los Altos Hills County Fire District has declared the area west of Interstate 280 a fire hazardous area, which covers the vast majority of the approximately 2,500 households in the hills.

Turner said the newer homes built in town are "clean," and not as at risk as older structures built in the 1960s or earlier. Some of these homes are surrounded by old juniper, eucalyptus or pine trees that "just blow up" in blazes, he said.

Newer homes, Vetterlein said, require sprinkler systems, but "The water storage and pressure can't handle the needs of a major fire," he said.

Vetterlein, a longtime resident, noted the old apricot orchards in the hills have been replaced with "extensive tree plantings." He said homeowners seeking privacy have overplanted their land with trees that are "neither properly spaced nor pruned of deadwood."

Turner noted some of the worst brush areas are off of Fremont Road near Los Altos Hills Town Hall.

Byrne Park also is dense with growth, and the fire district last fall had goats at the park eating away at the fire-prone brush.

Los Altos Hills Mayor Bob Johnson, a liaison to the town safety committee, cautioned against overdramatizing the fire danger.

"As a layman, I don't see any situation that has drastically changed," he said, responding to concerns that there is increased growth for fires over previous years.

"To make Byrne Park fire-safe would be horrendously expensive," Johnson said. Furthermore, he wondered whether those walking along pathways would be happy about a massive "cleaning" of the park. "If they went in and started clearing out Byrne Park, it wouldn't be an interesting place to walk through anymore," Johnson said.

Sid Hubbard, a former town council member who on is the board of the Los Altos County Fire District, said the district has several programs in effect to combat fire dangers.

In addition to bringing in the goats, the Santa Clara County Fire Department has underwritten weed and brush abatement programs and the fire protection district offers a "chipper program." Under the program, residents can leave piles of brush and wood debris to be ground into chips by a district contractor.

Stu Farwell, a former fire official who serves as a consultant to the fire district, said the chipper program will begin its fourth year this spring.

Also, for the first time last year, the district paid for a town yard waste program in conjunction with the Los Altos Garbage Company. Residents have the option of dumping off yard waste at a site on the Foothill College campus.

"It's hard to imagine what more we can do," he said.

Turner is concerned that the vast majority of town residents neither address fire hazard issues themselves, nor take advantage of the programs. "Some people even like the weeds," he said.

The next meeting of the Los Altos Hills County Fire District is 7:30 p.m., Feb. 22, at Foothill College fire station.

paredness - how many have ensured the ability to take care of themselves? "

The fire district, however, continues to fund and offer several abatement programs, Farwell said, "so people don't have an excuse (for not getting rid of debris)."