Wildfire Prevention Debate Emerges at COSCA

At a Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency meeting held one year ago in October, Ventura County Fire Department officials pointed to sections along the wildland-urban interface where more vegetation removal might reduce wildfire fuel. They discussed using hand crews and grazing goats. COSCA Administrator Brian Stark questioned clearing chaparral, saying it could lead to weedy grasses that catch fire more easily and spread flames faster. He called for scientific proof that added treatment would improve safety for nearby homes.

The disagreement matters to homeowners whose properties border protected open space. California law requires defensible space around residences in designated fire-hazard zones, and Ventura County can inspect properties, enforce corrections and bill owners when required work is completed for them. Insurance costs add another pressure: a Newbury Park homeowner near Deer Ridge said his annual premium rose from $3,700 to $4,600, nearly 25 percent. His neighborhood borders 188 acres of COSCA land, which also meets the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

COSCA does carry out fuel reduction and maintains defensible-space areas beside homes, while the National Park Service conducts strategic fuel management. The broader question is how those efforts should balance habitat, erosion, invasive species and watershed concerns with community safety. Possible approaches include selective thinning, grazing and fuel breaks, with the source emphasizing that choices should be guided by science and revisited as fire patterns, development and wildfire-related costs change.