More enforcement of a key change in Nevada County’s Hazardous Vegetation Abatement Ordinance is getting underway soon. Fire officials are wrapping up defensible space inspections for the season. Speaking on “KNCO: Insight’, Supervising inspector Ricky Martinez, with the County Office of Emergency Services, said this particular revision, passed earlier in the spring by the Board of Supervisors, now requires parcels of one acre or less to be fully treated, and not just with defensible space. He says many of these parcels are unoccupied and unimproved, as well as not locally-owned…

click to listen to Ricky Martinez

Cal Fire inspector Joe Santos said he’s already seeing indications that many property owners are unaware of this more stringent provision of the ordinance, among other concerns…

click to listen to Joe Santos

Officials stress that few citations are issued, for the most part, that it’s important just to educate people about proper wildfire protection measures. There are only six inspectors covering Nevada as well as Yuba and Placer counties. Nevada County alone has around 54-thousand lots. About 13-thousand inspections for all three counties were made last year. They prioritize according to the severity of the fire zone where a property has been mapped.