Los Gatos Homeowner Prevents the Spread of Fire by Creating Defensible Space

The Santa Clara County Fire Department (County Fire) and Los Gatos homeowner Tyrone Willingham discussed a recent vegetation fire that occurred in his community and how the work he and his neighbors completed to create defensible space helped prevent a potentially devastating wildfire.
County Fire responded to reports of a vegetation fire on the 200 block of Mountain Laurel Lane in the Town of Los Gatos at approximately 2:13pm on May 29, 2024. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a vegetation fire with one residential structure immediately threatened. Firefighters were able to stop forward progress quickly, containing the fire to just over one acre and keeping the fire from spreading to nearby homes and open space.
In early spring each year, County Fire mails just over 11,000 notices to property owners located in the wildland urban interface in areas designated high-risk and very-high-risk fire hazard severity zones. The wildland urban interface describes areas where developed land meets wilderness. High fire hazard severity zones are identified based on vegetation density, slope severity, and other relevant factors that contribute to fire severity.
The letters advise property owners of their requirement to take steps to mitigate wildfire risk and serve as a guide on the steps they can take to make their homes and neighborhoods more resilient to vegetation fires.
“We received a letter in early spring that talks about defensible space and what we should do as homeowners to protect ourselves and most importantly protect our neighbors,” said Tyrone Willingham. “We cut our grass, put them in a manner that they were near the ground so that if a fire did pop-up, we could have a chance to save our homes and save our community.”
The work Mr. Willingham and his neighbors completed is a great example of how effective defensible space can be at preventing the spread of fire.
“We have a false sense of security this year because we had a lot of rain and people are not thinking about fire,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Jeremy Davis. “The issue is that this year we’re probably going to burn more acres because that water allowed for more vegetation and tall grasses to grow. That poses a challenge because that makes fire move so fast. This is where the defensible space really helps.”
This incident highlighted that the land is primed for vegetation fires this summer. With drying fuels and the increase in temperatures, we must all be alert to wildfire risks and take proactive steps to mitigate hazards in and around our homes. The collaborative efforts by proactive homeowners to create defensible space, and the quick, aggressive, attack by firefighters contributed to rapid containment of the incident without any loss of property.
For more information on how to prepare your home for wildfires, please visit www.sccfd.org/rsg
The Santa Clara County Fire Department provides all-risk, emergency response to the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County, including the communities of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga. County Fire seeks to minimize life-threatening risks by responding to all fire, medical, rescue, and hazardous materials incidents. For more information, visit www.sccfd.org.
Media Contact: Matt Mokhtarian, Public Information Officer 408-341-4444
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