Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District

EMERGENCIES:

DIAL 9-1-1

Safety Checklist

OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

Defensible Space is required 100 feet from all structures by California law (Public Resources Code Section 4291)

  • Install 4” reflective address numbers on a contrasting background at the road, house and dock.
  • Install a Class A rated fire resistive roof of metal, asphalt shingle, or tile.
  • Maintain wood siding with paint or stain (or replace with noncombustible siding material).
  • Cover roof, attic and basement vents with _” metal mesh. (And box in the eaves of your house).
  • Remove ALL combustible material within 5 ft. of any structure and 10 ft. of LPG tank. (Includes all brush, non-irrigated plants, pine needles, dead limbs, firewood, lumber, shutters, and stuff under decks).
  • Remove ALL PINE NEEDLES within 30 ft. once every spring before mid-June, and ALL DEAD material within 100 ft. of any structure; this is on the ground or in all trees and in or under any brush.
  • Have only 1 woodpile 30 ft. from house. (Store ALL wood and lumber in this one place).
  • Remove flammable brush to below 18” high or provide clear space around it 2 times the brush height (Flammable brush includes Greenleaf Manzanita and Huckleberry Oak) Non-Flammable plants to remain are Currant, Willow, Alder, Squaw Carpet (Remove all dead branches & twigs in these).
  • Remove ALL branches within 10 ft. of any chimney and screen chimney with 1/4” metal mesh.
  • Remove ALL tree branches 10 ft. from the ground or 1/3 tree height and within 10 ft. of any buildings.
  • Thin trees to provide 10 ft. crown spacing (private property owners can cut any live trees less than 14” in diameter and any dead tree under 30” in diameter without a permit. The FLFD can mark larger trees and provide a permit for removal, if they pose a fire hazard. USFS Permitees can remove live or dead trees smaller than 6” in diameter, but need permission from USFS Special Uses to cut trees of greater size. When removing trees, leave less abundant varieties.
  • Burn brush piles before 15th of June every year. If burning, get a permit from the Fallen Leaf Fire Dept.
  • Install a garden hose bib and have a hose connected at all times with a spray nozzle attached.
  • Keep fire tools close by: a ladder long enough to reach the roof, shovel, rake, and bucket.
  • Provide a minimum 16 ft. wide roadway path for fire vehicles with turnouts and turnarounds. There should be 10 ft. of space on both sides of the road and 15 ft. of clearance above road.
  • Practice wildfire evacuation scenarios with your family. Re-read and post the Fallen Leaf Evacuation Plan in your home (evacuation plan on reverse of this checklist). Know where your closest safety zones are and how to get there on foot if you are warned by an emergency vehicles public address system to evacuate NOW. Keep valuables you might carry away in easily accessible areas. Identify an out of area contact family members can call in case your family gets separated. DO NOT DRIVE OUT!
  • Dispose of BBQ or fireplace ashes only after soaking them for 24 hours in a covered metal pail with water.
  • Store gasoline only in approved, labeled, metal containers away from occupied buildings.
  • Ensure house main electrical panel is fused correctly, and that fuses are not overloaded or bridged.
  • Install a protective metal cover over your propane regulator to keep snow out.
  • Ensure a firefighting water supply of at least 2,500 gallons. If you own a fire pump, contact the Fallen Leaf Fire Department to help you maintain it and to show you how to use it properly.

INSIDE THE HOUSE

  • Install smoke detectors on every floor and in every bedroom, test often, change battery yearly in spring.
  • Identify two safe ways out of every room in your home (even 2nd floors). Practice home evacuation drills. Pick a meeting place outside, in front of the house that everyone knows. Once you get out, stay out.
  • Get a 5 lb. ABC fire extinguisher for every floor and 5 lbs. each for the kitchen, garage & boat house.
  • Clean the chimney and flue every year or after every 2 cords of wood burned.
  • Call 911 from your cabin phone and make sure the dispatcher’s screen shows the right address. Many addresses in the Fallen Leaf area are not correct; make sure the right one shows up.
  • Post your address and emergency numbers near the phone in your house, the FLFD has stickers!

HOME EVACUATION PLAN (POST SOMEWHERE CONSPICUOUS)

  • Rehearse what you will do and what you will take when you are told to evacuate.
  • Practice walking all possible Escape Route paths to your Safety Zone.
  • Discuss this plan with your family, designate a spot at the Safety Zone where you will meet each other. —Decide on an out of town contact that each of you might call if you get separated during evacuation.
  • You will be told to evacuate by Public Address System from an Emergency Vehicle (sheriff, fire, CHP). —You will only have a few minutes to leave and follow your Escape Route to your designated Safety Zone. IF NOTIFIED TO EVACUATE, DO IT AT ONCE!
  • DO NOT DRIVE (unless told to). This will only cause more congestion on the narrow roads and delay or prevent the response of emergency vehicles. And it could trap you and your car in an unsafe area.
  • Once you have arrived at your Safety Zone, stay there until told it is safe to leave.

THE DESIGNATED ESCAPE ROUTES IN THE FALLEN LEAF LAKE AREA ARE:

  • All West Side Residents and residents on Fallen Leaf Road walk directly downhill to Fallen Leaf Lake, take private boats to wherever directed by sheriff’s boat, FLFD fireboat or Marina boat.
  • Emigrant Road Residents walk (or drive, if told) down Emigrant road to the intersection of Fallen Leaf Road and from there go to 1131 Fallen Leaf Road, Mansfield Smith’s, Tallac House on Fallen Leaf Lake.
  • Stanford Hill Residents walk straight downhill or down Stanford Hill Road to Fallen Leaf Lake or walk down to Glen Alpine Creek, and then walk up or down the creek to Lily Lake or Fallen Leaf Lake depending on fire location, distance to safety zones and their location on the hill.
  • Lily Lake and Celestial Reservoir Road Residents (Alpine Falls Tract) walk down to Lily Lake or walk up into the rocks on Cathedral peak.
  • Upper Glen Alpine Road residents walk into Glen Alpine Creek and then walk to Modjeska Falls or walk up into the rocks on Cathedral peak.

THE DESIGNATED SAFETY ZONES IN THE FALLEN LEAF LAKE AREA ARE:

  • Fallen Leaf Lake, on the docks, piers, beaches or in the water itself (Also 1131 FLR Tallac House)
  • Lily Lake, parking lot or in the water itself
  • Glen Alpine Creek at Modjeska Falls
  • High up in the rocks of Cathedral Peak

Call the Fallen Leaf Fire Department at 530-542-1343, if anyone in your family, because of disability or other condition, would be unable to get to a safety zone on their own during an evacuation, or if you want to schedule a home visit/inspection.