Derrik Talks Firescaping In The Montecito Journal
Derrik Eichelberger, one of the Principal architects here at Arcadia, is a guest columnist in the December 18 edition of the Montecito Journal. The recent Tea Fire has left many locals with not much to sift through beyond memories and ashes. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and a few of our clients were among the unfortunate. We all know someone who was directly affected by the fire, and the community is rallying to support victims struggling through the aftermath.
As residents slowly begin to rebuild and repair, Derrik's article offers some suggestions for designing "firescape" environments that minimize damages from a blaze:
"Our office increasingly uses succulents and cactus as a staple of our design palette. Plants like Agave, Aloe, Cotyledon, Crassula and others have appeared in Santa Barbara County landscapes for years, admired most notably for their structural form, gorgeous flowers and foliage color and their ability to flourish in our arid gardens with very little water. What many designers and homeowners alike are coming to realize is that these plants are ideal as landscape plants for fire protection."
The Montecito Journal hasn't posted the edition online yet, and we'll link to it here once they do.
Two Good Firescape Guides
Here are two good resources if you want to do more research on firesafe landscapes.
Book:
By Douglas Kent
This book describes what types of properties and landscapes are higher-risk, how to make a home more accessible to fire-fighters, and what to do to minimize the chances that a home will be damaged or destroyed by a wildfire. It covers fire-safe fencing and roofing materials, has tips on using water efficiently, gives best methods of effective vegetation removal, and provides versatile and comprehensive plant lists and maintenance calendars useful for those living in California’s diverse climate zones.
Web Page:
City of Santa Barbara high fire zone landscape guidelines
These are the minimum requirements Landscape Architects have to meet when we are designing a landscape in a high-fire risk area in order to get approval from the city. Important factors include: plant selection, spacing, and buffer zones. We are also required to specify a very general maintenance program for the landscape. However, the Landscape Architect is rarely involved with the maintenance of projects in perpetuity, so it is important for homeowners to be familiar with maintenance guidelines, and meet or exceed the guidelines in this document.