The city of Santa Rosa is taking steps to help prevent future wildfires by passing a new ordinance outlining guidelines that homeowners within the wildland urban interface must follow. 9000 properties, mostly in hilly areas, are impacted and will need to clean up dead plants and follow strict guidelines. The council first approved the rules on December 5th and it will go for a second vote tomorrow night.
The new rules, which will be phased in, state that you must;
-Remove all dead plants, grasses and weeds around outbuildings and within 100 feet of a structure.
-Trim trees back at least 10 feet from a chimney.
-Maintain trees, bushes and other brush adjacent to or overhanging any structure free of dead limbs or combustible material.
-Prune branches of large trees up 10 feet from the ground.
There are new rules around mulch and bark as well.
