The Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council is taking action to protect its community and others from wildfire risk.
On Nov. 19, the council kicked off its Fire Safe the Mesa project, partnering with San Diego Canyonlands on wildfire-prevention and habitat-preservation work in the Del Mar Mesa Preserve. To fire safe the Mesa, the council received a generous $25,000 grant from the Protect our Preserves organization and are currently fundraising in the community to receive a matching $25,000 grant from POPs that would allow them to expand the project into other critical identified areas.
The council partnered with the nonprofit San Diego Canyonlands to do the work, which involves the strategic removal of invasive vegetation such as pampas grass, Mexican fan palms and on-native grasses which “pose a massive threat to the delicate preserve ecosystem and significantly increase fire risk.”
“Careful vegetation removal creates a multi-benefit that protects people and nature,” said Canyonlands in a statement. “This joint effort puts community voices in the leadership position to enhance resilience and beauty for this unique landscape.”
The Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council is a new group started this year, a subchapter of the San Diego County Fire Safe Council. Prior to this year, Del Mar Heights was the only existing fire safe council in the North County San Diego—now Del Mar Mesa and Carmel Valley both have councils to help their communities stay informed and ready.
After seeing what happened in this year’s January wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, areas not all that dissimilar from his neighborhood, Del Mar Mesa resident Derek Reeves was motivated to get involved and fell into the role as chair.
“If you look at the CalFire map, all you see is red and we are smack dab in the middle of all that red,” Reeves said of the red color that denotes a very high fire hazard severity zone. “We have the Preserve and finger canyons coming into our neighborhoods that haven’t been treated in years.”
The Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council’s Fire Safe the Mesa project is providing brush management in the preserve for wildfire prevention. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
The Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council came up with three goals this year: to increase awareness about where people live, to provide valuable resources and to tackle brush management in their community.
In beginning their work, the group polled neighbors asking if they had ever been invited to or attended a community meeting that provided wildfire preparedness tips and 75% answered no. A majority of residents answered that that they had not taken any action to prepare and protect their home against fire risk and damage.
Education became a priority—“If people understand the risk, they will naturally take steps to mitigate the risk,” Reeves said.
To help provide resources, Lisa Ross, a longtime community volunteer and member of the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council, created a website full of helpful information such as home and landscaping tips, apps, checklists and links. (“Lisa is a rock star,” Reeves said.)
They want residents and newer communities to be smarter about what they are planting—Reeves said a big push right now is for the defensible space known as Zone Zero, keeping the first five feet around home free of all flammable materials. Reeves said most on the Mesa do a good job maintaining their private properties but many back up onto open space that is not similarly maintained and they do not have access to.
Advocating for brush management was admittedly frustrating, Reeves said, as one of the biggest issues in San Diego is the planning (and funding) required to manage the acres and acres of city-owned open space.
“I’ve been here since 2002 and there hasn’t been any systematic approach to brush management,” Reeves said of the push for the city to focus on high-risk areas, especially areas with homes on high bluffs surrounded by a lot of brush.
Members of the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council gathered to watch the beginning of the Fire Safe the Mesa project. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
San Diego Canyonlands began work last month on the Fire Safe the Mesa project, a partnership with the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
The Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council’s Fire Safe the Mesa project is providing brush management in the preserve for wildfire prevention. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
San Diego Canyonlands began work last month on the Fire Safe the Mesa project, a partnership with the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
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Members of the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council gathered to watch the beginning of the Fire Safe the Mesa project. (Courtesy San Diego Canyonlands)
The council decided to approach Protect our Preserves (POPs) about available funding for its brush management work. For the last six years, the nonprofit has worked to promote the preservation, enhancement and restoration of habitats in Del Mar Mesa, Los Penasquitos Canyon and Carmel Mountain Preserves through education, outreach, grants and fundraising.
POPs agreed to a $25,000 grant and $25,000 in matching funds. Reeves said $25,000 is a lot of money to raise and it’s not easy but they are doing a lot of outreach for their worthy cause—so far, they have raised about $15,000, including a $5,000 contribution from the Fairmont Grand Del Mar.
“This won’t be an annual event, but it’s something that gets us a head start,” Reeves said. “I call this a short-term solution to a long-term problem.”
With the work, they are targeting the eastern portion of Del Mar Mesa. The thinking is that if that portion of the preserve were to go up in flames, it could easily be pushed west by strong Santa Ana winds, with devastating impacts.
Starting on Nov. 19, a Canyonlands crew of 15 went over the black fencing that lines all of the finger canyons, attacking the high pampas grass and the Mexican fan palms before they have a chance to grow even bigger. The preserve is not easy to access in those spots and it was made more complicated and muddy by the recent rains.
With the master right of entry from the city held for the last 17 years and the blessing of the San Diego County Fire Safety Council, Canyonlands is focused on keeping the native plant population healthy and getting of the highly flammable vegetation.
“They are highly knowledgeable and care about the habitat, they are not hacking and slashing,” Reeves said. “I think it’s a win/win for everybody… I think the residents are encouraged that they’re actually seeing some action because I don’t think its something they’ve ever seen before.”
Members of the council gathered on the first day to witness the work… a very welcome sight.
“My kids lost their home in the Altadena fire so I understand how under high wind conditions fire can spread from preserve land, to palm trees and finally to homes wiping out entire communities,” said Ross. “Fire in Del Mar Mesa Preserve could easily spread to neighboring communities of Carmel Valley, Pacific Highlands Ranch and Torrey Hills. Our Fire Safe The Mesa project is aimed to help reduce fire risk for all of us.”
Tax deductible contributions to the matching fund can be made on the Del Mar Mesa Fire Safe Council website: delmarmesafiresafe.org/fund