Agricultural Preparedness
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Agricultural Fire Prevention Brochure
FIRE PREVENTION FOR: AGRICULTURAL WORKERS
...BECAUSE FIRE SAFETY IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY
- PROTECT YOUR LIVELIHOOD
Your orchards, ranches and fields are your livelihood. Protect your land by making it fire-safe.
- Maintain your fields and orchards both fallow and productive.
- Practice safe and lawful agricultural burns.
- Maintain the roads on and around your property.
- BE PROACTIVE
- You can help prevent fires in your orchards, ranches and fields. By protecting yourself, you also protect your neighbors and community. Fire safety is everyone's responsibility.
- FIRE SAFETY IS A YEAR-ROUND ACTIVITY
Because the weather is not always predictable and rainfall is notoriously low in Southern California, fires can happen year-round. Every season is a burn season.- An agricultural worker's guide to being fire-safe
- SAFE AND LEGAL AGRICULTURAL BURNS
- Open burns are necessary but can be high risk:
- Prepare your burn site by ensuring that a 30' perimeter surrounding the material to be burned is cleared to bare mineral earth.
- Dry the material to be burned for at least 30 days.
- Acquire your permit at the Fire Prevention Bureau: Headquarters Fire Station 315 E. Ivy St. Fallbrook, Ca
- Plan ahead because an inspection of the burn site may be required.
- Materials on hand during the burn should include a hose with running water, shovels and rakes and the burn permit.
- Call for burn conditions on the day of the burn:(760) 723-2035
- Supervise the burn until the fire is completely extinguished.
- MAINTAIN YOUR ORCHARDS AND FIELDS
Even if parts of your farm or ranch are in fallow cycles, vegetation abatement is still necessary.
- Maintain 100' of clearance of native and dead vegetation from around structures including barns, sheds, garages, and propane tanks.
- Remove cuttings, trimmings, or other combustible waste material from property or along driveways or roadways.
- Parcels less than five acres require complete clearing of all recurring annual weeds and grasses by mowing completely
- Parcels greater than five acres require clearing of all recurring annual weeds and grasses by mowing a 100' perimeter around the property and 100' around all structures.
- MAINTAIN THE ROADS ON AND AROUND YOUR PROPERTY
- Ensure that there is adequate access to your property in case of an emergency.
- Maintain 10' of clearance of all native vegetation along both sides of roadways and driveways.
- Maintain 13' of horizontal clearance along all driveways and roadways.
- Remove cuttings, trimmings, or other combustible waste material from property or along driveways or roadways.
- YOUR PLAN
- Should a fire occur, make sure you are prepared.
Evacuation plans should be communicated to everyone working on the property and should include plans for animal evacuations.- Practice your evacuation plan regularly and renew it each year.
- If prompted, evacuate immediately. Delays will block Fire Department equipment from having adequate access to your property.
- If you see smoke and are unsure if it is a controlled burn or not, please call:
(760) 723-2010 or dial 911
- FOR MORE INFORMATION
- For more information on other fire-safety topics, please visit our www.wildfirealert.org homepage
