LAGUNA BEACH – A plan by fire and city officials to clear out highly flammable vegetation in two interior canyons in the Arch Beach Heights area will go before the California Coastal Commission Thursday, after an appeal.
The fuel modification plan developed by the Laguna Beach Fire Department recommends clearing out dead and dying vegetation, invasive plants and highly flammable non-native trees such as pine, cypress and acacias on 22 acres of undeveloped and steeply sloped canyons to achieve a firebreak in Oro and Nyes canyons.
The project was reviewed by the city’s design review board with input from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and neighbors. The city hired a consultant, a biologist and a geologist to make sure the removal and trimming of non-native plants would not harm endangered plant species or cause erosion. The plant removal will be done by hand crews, under observation of biologists.
After neighborhood meetings and two hearings by the design review board, the $1 million city-funded plan was approved.
The fire department recommends taking the fuel amount down by 50 percent given that the city is already located in a very high fire severity zone and has a history of devastating fires. In 1993, more than 400 homes were destroyed when a fire burned through 16,000 acres. California is entering its fourth year of record heat and severe drought conditions.
State law requires maintaining defensible space for firefighters, Laguna Beach Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse said. The city has 14 zones that establish a fuel break along the city’s perimeter.
These zones help reduce fuel loads and allow firefighters to go into areas quicker. Reduction of the fuel load also makes it easier for residents to evacuate and fire trucks to get into areas to fight fires, LaTendresse said.
But resident Marc Wright says the fire department’s plan “meets zero best practices standards for firefighting and wild-urban interface conservation.” He has appealed the plan to the Coastal Commission and hopes to stop it.
In testimony before the city’s review board, he said, “the proposal was put together in great haste with no scrutiny.”
City officials are confused by the rationale for his appeal, which included lists of codes with no explanations.
The Sierra Club sent a letter to the commission this week suggesting a delay and that it will not have an impact on fire safety.
Coastal Commission staff has worked with Laguna officials to review the plan and so far has found “no substantial issue” with the plan.
LaTendresse will state his case to the commission in Chula Vista on Thursday. If they find there is no reason for delay, the plan will proceed. If there is an issue, the commission is expected to discuss the issue at a later date.
City Manager John Pietig, Assistant Director of Community Development Ann Larson and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow plan to attend the meeting.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or Twitter:lagunaini
