Due to warming and drying conditions as summer begins, Cal Fire will suspend the issuance of all permits for outdoor residential burning next week in its service areas in San Diego County, the state agency announced Wednesday.
The suspension, which will go into effect at 8 a.m. Monday, will temporarily ban all residential outdoor burning of branches, leaves and other landscape debris.
The restrictions will not apply to campfires at community-sanctioned campgrounds or on private property. Such fires may be permitted if rules and regulations set forth by permitting agencies are followed.
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Though last winter's significant precipitation has reduced the effects of ongoing drought conditions throughout California, a single season of wet and snowy conditions is not sufficient to offset the prior three years of below-normal moisture, Cal Fire officials noted.
Tony Mecham, chief of Cal Fire San Diego, urged homeowners to maintain 100 or more feet of "defensible space" free of flammable vegetation around their homes.
Mecham also advised residents to consider other means -- such as fire-resistant housing materials and alternative disposal methods for landscape debris, such as chipping or bio-mass -- to "harden" their living spaces against combustion hazards.
"This will reduce the risk of ignition of their property from heat, flames and wildfire embers," Mecham said.
Additional information on preventing wildfires and protecting homes from them is available online at www.AlertSD.org.
