WYNOLA HOMEOWNERS PITCH IN TO CREATE DEFENSIBLE SPACE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD

By Miriam Raftery

June 6, 2023 (Wynola) -- Cal Fire leaders have warned that the heavy rains this past winter have fueled growth of brush across the backcountry, setting the stage for what could be a severe wildfire season.

But in Julian, the Wynola Estates neighborhood is working together to protect residents and their homes from wildfires.

After requiring homeowners to clear overgrown trees and shrubs from the community’s 80 properties, the Wynola Estates Fire Safe Council organized a community chipping event. Over 30 thirty residents have come together to collect foliage for chipping.

The work began Sunday with chippers, tractors, trailers and is likely to run through Wednesday, with volunteers working up to eight hours a day to create defensible space.

Wynola Estates is no stranger to fire danger, since it borders the burn site of the Inaja Fire of 1956, which claimed the lives of 11 firefighters. In 2003, the community lost two homes in the Cedar Fire.

Resident and Fire Safe Councilmember Sandie McCann says, “To do our part is huge – it’s past critical that we do what is needed to keep our homes hardened.”

As a true community effort, this work is also being done at no cost to residents. Many members of the community are well into their retirement years and the cost of clearing the large properties can be a burden.

So McCann explains, “This is all done through grants. This isn’t out of pocket. A lot of the people in our neighborhood don’t have several hundred dollars to clear their property,” she adds.

The Council recommends maintaining a 100-foot safety radius around homes, with no combustible materials.

Residents had the option to keep their chippings for use as mulch, or have them hauled off by the group and delivered to the nearby Julian Farm and Orchard to help with weed control—in accordance with the farmers’ commitment to recycling and sustainability.