East Bay firefighters going door-to-door to inspect homes ahead of fire season

With the East Bay hills dry and getting drier by the day, fire inspectors with the Contra Costa County Fire Prevention District are going door-to-door to remind homeowners to get rid of overgrown vegetation.

"We are expecting to see 2-3 times the flame lengths as the height of the fuels," said fire inspector Taylor King.

That's why firefighters are telling people grass and weeds should be no taller than 3 inches.

"The light flash fuels, the tall grass, the weeds, dead limbs that may be overhanging roofs, you may want to address that," said fire inspector Chris Giddis.

The fire inspectors are paying particularly close attention to property owners who have a history of not complying with fire vegetation management protocols.

They are also checking out those homeowners who have received complaints from neighbors about their yard.

"We intend to reach all those non-compliant property owners and obtain voluntary or compulsory compliance by July 4 at the latest," said Captain George Laing.

Compulsory means that if the owner doesn't fix the problem within 30 days, the fire district will send a contractor out and put a lien on the property for the cost of the work.

Last year that happened to 126 homeowners in the county.

The district also has a list of available contractors on its website.

With fire danger coming especially early this year, homeowners need to move even more quickly than before.

"Our concern is ramped up both because of low fuel moistures, early fire weather conditions, an early fireworks activity which has been reported throughout the jurisdiction," said Laing.