it was the 2009 fires i was thinking of im sure.couldnt remember for sure.
and they do require a "safety buffer",which i think is only 150 feet in rural areas.im sure ill get slammed for this by some..maybe not,but the Sierra Club,who are a powerfull enviromental group,im all for enviromentalist laws ect,i love this state and the mountains i live in,but i dont like the sierra club,they just go to far.theyve also lost some of thier "power" after a fire near south lake tahoe that distroyed many homes,the home owners were not allowed to clean up the forrest duff,so there was up to 8 inchs of duff or more in some places,which helped to fuel the fire,along with winds,the fire just roared through this nieghborhood burning homes.even a bear had severe burns,and the sort of sweet part of that,they found the bear sitting on its butt,and was holding its front paws in the air,alternantly ,in what alot of people,including myself,believe was this bear asking for help,every time a fire engine passed,it would hold up a paw,someone finally got brave and stopped,saw the damage to its paws sorta close (through the closed window im guessin) and called for animal control,it walked into the large crate thing they use for dangerous animals all on its own,and wasnt violent or threatening to its care takers at all...this from what i read in one of the local papers.it was proven that if the home owners and property managers were allowed to clean up around homes,the fire wouldnt have had the fuels to be so out of control,,,in the defence of the sierra club though,the thought was to help save the waters in lake tahoe,it used to be qrsytal clear,but had been becoming dirty,and they found that all the cleaning around homes was allowing surface dirts to be washing into the lake.
bottom line,there are local and state laws to clean up,and have a safety buffer.there is no state group to clean up or clear land that i know of,but that said,there are many local jail work release or in custody inmate crews who will clear county and state owned properties,and like in my town,they will send a crew out to clean up a privately owned property after several posted warnings.but that doesnt happen often.and when people move from places like Los Angeles or San Francisco,they want the wild and natural feel,and will refuse to clean up,in those areas,cal fire wont protect a home where the home owner hasnt "followed the rules" and cleared/cleaned..they just move to the next home/homes that have been cleared.
im prattling again.....yes there are laws,theyre not followed for the most part,and are not enforced for the most part.they wait until their homes are destroyed,then bitch about the unprofessionalism of the local and state fire fighters.
