Firefighters: Use care when using lawn mower, weed trimmer to cut grass, brush around homes

A fire east of Windsor on Saturday, attributed to use of a weed wacker to cut grass along a residential driveway, was an example of “doing the right thing the wrong way,” firefighters said.

Trimming grass and clearing brush to protect your home from a wildfire wins praise from state and local firefighters, but doing it at the wrong time and under the wrong conditions prompts recollection of the Creighton Ridge fire that scorched more than 11,000 acres around Cazadero in 1978.

Saturday’s blaze, which broke out around 3 p.m. in a rural area north of Shiloh Ranch Regional Park, covered 2.6 acres and was halted in about 40 minutes as two air tankers bombarded the grass, landscaping and two homes with bright pink retardant.

It came during the heat of the day, with flames threatening three luxury homes, and “could have been much worse” had there been wind to fan the blaze, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Marshall Turbeville said.

Turbeville and Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa’s assistant fire marshal, said it demonstrated the potential hazards of reducing flammable vegetation - a statewide objective after two straight record-setting fire years - in a risky manner.

The Creighton Ridge fire, which destroyed 64 homes, was started by someone mowing grass on a hot, windy August day. The Ranch fire, the largest in state history at 410,000 acres, ignited last July when a Potter Valley rancher pounded a metal stake into the ground with a hammer to plug a yellow jacket nest, according to Cal Fire.

Both were “everyday actions” that proved disastrous, Turbeville said, and with hot weather inexorably drying out abundant vegetation in the wake of a wet winter and spring, firefighters want residents to do the right thing the right way.

Lawn mowers, weed wackers and trimmers, tractors, chain saws, grinders and welders can ignite wildfires, and Cal Fire responds to more than 1,600 fires each year started by people using equipment improperly, the agency says.

In Sonoma County there are about five to 10 equipment-related fires a year, Turbeville said.

On Saturday, the weed wacker operator on Shiloh Canyon Road was “doing the right thing” by having a fire extinguisher handy, he said.

But it was mid-afternoon, the hottest part of the day, on a southwest facing slope that gets maximum sun exposure this time of year. By the time the fire was noticed, it was too late to stop it with the extinguisher, Turbeville said.

The fire’s cause is uncertain, but Turbeville said it was likely the result of contact between the weed wacker’s spinning head and dry grass. Cal Fire advises people to do all yard maintenance that involves a gasoline or electric motor before 10 a.m., or later under foggy skies.

If the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning, grass and brush cutting work should be postponed, Turbeville said. Lawn mower blades striking a rock and causing a spark are a common type of equipment fire, and mowers - even riding mowers - should be used only on lawns and not operated “off road” in tall grass, he said.

The precautions apply in urban as well as suburban and rural areas, Lowenthal said. No equipment fires have been reported this year in Santa Rosa, where there is plenty of dry grass and weeds.

“We feel our residents have been heeding the warnings,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of work being done.”

“Now is the time to mow and cut weeds, but do it carefully,” Turbeville said.

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Cal Fire recommends the following measures to safely clear vegetation around a home:

• Do all yard maintenance involving a gas or electric motor before 10 a.m., not in the heat of the day or when the wind is blowing.

• Mowers, including riding mowers, are designed to cut lawns; never use them in dry vegetation.

• Use a weed wacker or wacker or trimmer to cut down dry weeds and grass.

• Remove rocks in the area before beginning work. A rock hidden in grass or weeds can start a fire when struck by a metal blade.

• Keep the engine free of oil and dust. Do not top off fuel.

• Be aware that hot engines, exhausts and mufflers can start fires.

• Equipment operators should keep looking behind themselves as they work and monitor the area when done.