Fire prevention for High Desert communities in the spotlight after fire destroys structures in Yucca Valley
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – Community leaders are again encouraging residents to take steps to protect their property in our High Desert communities.
It comes after the Skyline Fire in Yucca Valley destroyed four structures on Sunday. It burned 39 acres and reached full containment as of the latest update given by CAL FIRE on Tuesday morning. All firefighting resources have since been released. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.
Damage inspection teams are currently assessing the condition of the four structures burned.
Joseph Spiegel, owner of Joe's Garage, just down the road from the fire, recounted how he nearly lost his home. He said shortly after the fire ignited, his neighbors told him to check on his property.
"Just as I arrived, the fire truck was backing into the driveway and the flames were licking the side of my house," Spiegel recounted. "It burnt out two outbuildings. But I was going to tear those down anyway. And I had a bunch of brush and shrubs that I had just recently trimmed and I burned all that, so I don't have to haul that away."
He said it did more good than harm for his property, but it was a different story for some of his neighbors. Spiegel said one of his neighbors' garages was burnt, and another neighbor lost a trailer.
Justin Merino, the Director of Wildfire Mitigation in the High Desert, said this fire was a good example of how proper maintenance can limit the destruction of wildfires. Although the desert is more spread out, maintaining defensible space around your home is a critical step to keeping your property safe.
He pointed to "Zone Zero" – the defensible space closest to the home where brush, vegetation, and any other flammable material should be cleared.
"Zone Zero is going to be 0 to 5 feet from outside your house. And that's probably why a lot of structures out here survived," Merino inferred. "That is the ember zone of where a home burns."
Merino provides educational assessments, free of charge, to residents in the High Desert. He encouraged residents to schedule those assessment appointments as an learning tool for those who might still be uncertain about how protecting their homes from embers is critical. More information on those resources can be found by clicking here.
As for preparation in his community, Spiegel said most of his neighbors understood the importance of maintaining that space. He pointed to previous fires that made runs through the area.
"You have to be prepared for it. And it's something that most everybody just prepare for because we do have fires up here," he said.
Between education and outreach programs like the one Merino runs, we asked him if enough is being done to make sure residents are prepared for wildfire.
He responded, "I would say collectively, yes. There's lots of outreach. Reaching every single resident in this vast desert is impossible. But it's our mission."
