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The Berkeley Fire Department announced last week that it is gearing up for an early fire season and recommends property owners establish a 30-foot safety zone around their homes and structures by doing the following:  

• Clearing flammable vegetation around structures. Hillsides should be cleared between 100-200 feet, because flames travel faster and hotter up slope.  

• Removing vines from the walls of homes.  

• Moving shrubs and other landscaping away from the sides of the house.  

• Pruning branches and shrubs within 10 feet of chimneys and stovepipes.  

• Trimming tree branches so that leaves or needles are at least 8’ from the ground.  

• Thinning a 10-foot space between tree crowns.  

• Replacing highly flammable vegetation such as pine, eucalyptus, juniper and fire trees with lower growing, less flammable species.  

• Clearing the area of leaves, brush, pinecones and dead limbs. and fallen trees.