Fire officials urge preparation

With the official start of fire season quickly approaching in September, Newport Beach firefighters are taking a cue from county agencies and evaluating canyon-side homes for vulnerabilities and warning homeowners.

In the city’s new “Ready! Set! Go!” program, fire officials are going to nearly 1,000 homes facing Newport Beach’s ravines and canyons and assessing which have a good chance of surviving a wildfire.

“All the ones here with wood roofs are in bad shape,” said Newport Beach Fire Marshal Steve Bunting, pointing to homes on the southern edge of Spyglass Canyon. “These embers, they look to get in these little nooks and crannies, then it’s game on.”

Four separate firefighter crews will assess homes in the coming weeks and grade them as low-, moderate- and high-risk for not surviving a wildfire based on points.

The more points you have, for things such as wood shingles, poor landscaping or unprotected eaves, the higher the vulnerability of your home.

Homes so far are averaging between 40 and 50 points, making most moderate- to high-risk. One home on Cervantes with no space between the canyon side brush and its backyard scored a 70, the highest so far.

The home served as an example of subtle differences that add up to a home either burning or surviving during a disaster.

Bunting pointed to the home’s eaves — wood without a stucco finish underneath that could temper the heat from flames climbing up the hills or outside walls. The heat and embers could spread to the attic in a matter of seconds, he said.

“Once it’s in the attic, it’s good night Irene,” Bunting said.

“I just think there’s a low risk of the fire getting over here,” said 22-year-old Matt Chou, a Newport Coast resident. His parents’ home scored a 40, one of the lowest of the day Friday. His family had the foresight to remove excess trees and bushes from around the house when they moved in.

Homes were graded on a range of criteria along with the landscaping and perimeter of the house.

Fire officials looked at roofing, decks and balconies, eaves and gutters, and if windows were double-pane. Double-pane windows can withstand the heat of fires and won’t break, Bunting said.

Trees and most ornamental bushes should be at least 10 feet from the home, and native plants should be farther away.

“It’s all fuel,” said Fire Department Engineer Charlie Dall, pointing to a row of trees between two Newport Coast homes. His crew noted that the pine trees climbing up the hillside and the cypress trees in back yards “are like candles” that burn hot and fast and can spell trouble for homes in a disaster.

While fire season technically starts Sept. 1, Bunting said, fires now happen year round, and it’s important that residents butting up to hills and canyons keep a safe perimeter around the house and make their home as resistant to fire as possible.