Clearing brush is part of Fire Prevention 101. Taking care of it
shouldn’t even require one reminder for responsible property
owners.
A two-alarm fire raged across a three-acre lot near the new Las Animas School and the Villagio subdivision, threatening homes and the school, not to mention the lives of neighbors and firefighters. As Christopher Quirk reported, extinguishing the blaze required all three Gilroy Fire Department engines, two airplanes, a helicopter, two South County Fire District engines, and the assistance of CalFire, an expensive and dangerous effort.
The fire broke out on an empty, brush-filled lot owned by New Hope Community Church. What’s worse, neighbors report that fires are a frequent problem on the empty lot.
“It’s the same every year,” Shannon Sepulveda told Quirk. “There have been fires there every summer.”
Sepulveda said that neighbors have complained about the danger: “Everybody calls and they do absolutely nothing about the brush.”
Fire department officials confirmed that they’d been trying for months to get the church to mow the grass and weeds on the empty lot.
But the church is not the only property owner delinquent in clearing brush in Gilroy. More than 30 lots in Gilroy are unmowed despite months of multiple notices.
Property owners should get one notice to clear their properties. If they fail to comply, the city should hire a contractor to do the work and bill the property owner for it. The county effectively uses a similar model to deal with recalcitrant property owners.
This system has a built-in financial incentive. Most property owners can do the work themselves for little cost – especially in the case of a large church like New Hope, which ought to be able to round up lots of able-bodied, enthusiastic volunteers – or even hire someone to do the work for less than the city.
Most important, though, it reduces the risk of wildfires breaking out on these fuel-filled empty lots that put property and lives at risk.
We live in a state that has a fire season, and we’re currently deep into it. Clearing brush is part of Fire Prevention 101. Taking care of it shouldn’t even require one reminder for responsible property owners
City fire officials should have no patience when dealing with property owners who refuse to take care of clearing brush. This is not only a matter of fiscal prudence and protecting property, it’s a matter of saving lives.
