In response to Byron Nelson’s letter asking for intensification of brush management with goats, I would say, “bad idea.” Goats are no panacea. Some brush clearance with goats is useful, but more would promote a false sense of security against fire. Quite simply, brush clearance won’t save your house when the Santa Ana winds are howling and embers are flying in from half a mile away. What might save your house is “hardening the target.” The Fire Department gives detailed information online about how to make your home more fire safe. See:www.lagunabeachcity.net/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=8464. Basically, the more you can do to prevent flying embers from lodging in your house, the safer it will be.
But how many people regularly clear leaves from their roofs and gutters, prune trees overhanging their house, get rid of wooden decking, install ember-resisting vents, close up all cracks in a house, replace flammable with non-flammable roofing or install a water tank, generator and roof sprinkler system like they do in Australia? How many homeowners take advantage of the Fire Department’s free wildfire consultation? How many people love having their houses in a rustic high fire risk zone but don’t carry enough insurance to lose it? How many people voted for Measure P? It’s just too easy to say, “Bring in the goats.” A recent article in the LA Times shows the value of native plants as protection against fire. Defensible zones have their value, but there is increasing evidence that they are overrated and are less important than hardening the target.
Similar scapegoat logic leads people to think that if we just get rid of all the eucalyptus trees in Laguna, we’ll be a lot safer. This is nonsense. Trees, besides being essential for myriad reasons, can actually protect houses from flying embers. Not always of course, but enough that it is a big mistake to remove them. Please don’t start a war on trees. It is better to just prune dead wood and clean up fallen debris. The city does a good job of this. If you want to save your house from fire, do something about your house. Don’t rely on scapegoats.
Chris Reed, Laguna BeachScapegoating Is Not the answer
Great letter with so many valid and helpful points!
Laguna’s many varieties of eucalyptus trees with
their lovely fragrance, gnarled trunks, smooth or rough bark,
standing tall & majestic along avenues and neighborhoods,
have always been such such an integral part of
the city’s unique and special image.
By all means, take sensible steps to prevent problems, but
don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater!
Trees provide valuable habitat, watershed, reduce temperatures,
and release oxygen. All good.
Great letter with so many valuable and helpful points!
Laguna’s many varieties of eucalyptus trees, with their
lovely fragrance, gnarled trunks, smooth or rough bark,
standing tall and majestic along avenues and neighborhoods,
have always been an integral element of this city’s unique image.
By all means, take sensible steps to avoid problems, but don’t
throw out the baby with the bathwater. Trees provide valuable
habitat, needed watershed, reduce temperatures and release oxygen.
All good.
Great letter with so many valuable and helpful points!
Laguna’s many varieties of eucalyptus trees, with their
lovely fragrance, gnarled trunks, smooth or rough bark,
standing tall and majestic along avenues and neighborhoods,
have always been an integral element of this city’s unique image.
By all means, take sensible steps to avoid problems, but don’t
throw out the baby with the bathwater. Trees provide valuable
habitat, needed watershed, reduce temperatures and release oxygen.
All good.
Thank you Chris Reed for putting into words the sentiment many of us retain here in lovely Laguna.
We love visiting the goats, their herder and dogs twice a year. But we fully know the goats are only eating new growth. They do not actively chew and dispose of decades of tinder, dead branches, stumps or decaying debris-but they sure are cute!!!!