Burn Season Closing, Fire Season Approaching

Driving around Bonny Doon, we see many neighbors taking advantage of the last days of cool damp weather to make their properties and private roads fire safe. Burn Season in Bonny Doon closes April 30, and with it a fine opportunity to safely and cheaply dispose of slash generated from clearing brush and fallen limbs from your property. Now is the time to prepare for Fire Season!

If you prefer not to burn, during the week of April 17 – 25 all residential Green Waste Fees will be waived at the Ben Lomond transfer station. Commercial chipping is also an option. At the very least, you should lop and lower: reduce all cut organic material to small pieces, no more than a few inches above the ground.

Spring cleaning and home repairs are also in the air. Why not add cleaning your roof and gutters of flammable debris, checking the screens on your vents to keep out embers, and replacing the batteries in your smoke alarms to your list?

Help Available, Help Wanted

We have been talking to several neighborhood groups about how they can make their roads and properties fire safe. If your neighborhood has a core group of people interested in fire preparedness and willing to commit time and energy, we're here to help. We are especially interested in neighborhood projects that would make good demonstrations for the whole Bonny Doon community, and in larger projects that should be added to the 2011 revision of our Community Wildfire Protection Plan, for the 2011/2012 grant cycle.

Right now we are looking for a legal professional to help with the formalities of setting up our 501(c)(3). We're also looking for good local examples of defensible space. If you have one and are willing to share it with the community, let us know. If there is sufficient interest we could set up a tour.