3R Home and Barn Project

[3RRL]

Hi Spiv,
Thanks for asking!
About the tank, I've got a well that produces over a hundred gals a minute right next to the tank. Water will be pumped into it using a float type system. Then the tank will be plumbed using a 4" line to the fire hydrant in front of the log home.

Now, about the fire break I'm not sure. It would depend on how much forest and what kind of trees you have and also the wind factor. Out here we have almost all Oaks and they are fairly fire resistant. I've cleared at least a hundred foot radius around the home so it seems to be fairly well removed even if a wildfire rushed through here.

My guess would be a good 30' break if there was grasses and brush only ... that might work as a fire break for those things... maybe not? But a much greater distance would be needed if there were taller trees.

Oops, I didn't see Brian's post...
Thanks Brian.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Rob, do you have to have have fire sprinklers in your buildings?

 

[Spiveyman]

100 gal/min!! I don't know much about well production, but that sounds like a doozy!

1000'+ fire break.... I guess when the wind is blowing it only takes one airborne ember to keep 'er going, and they can probably travel a far bit.

So, Rob, do you have the ability to hook into that hydrant if you need to? Or do you have to wait for your new buddy the fire dude? Of course if you ever needed one, there'd probably be a spare ladder truck with full tanks just sitting on your place (ala the spare Gradall!!! )

 

[3RRL]

No, there was no requirement for sprinklers in the buildings. The codes in Tulare County are not like those in Los Angles or even San Bernardino, San Diego etc. They are pretty lax in comparison.

The well is a doozy indeed. But my particular area is known for abundant rockwell flow. My neighbor has a 75 gal/min well. Funny thing is it's all limited to what my pump can do. Don't ask me ... I don't know what it does.
Here is a website page of when we dug the well. The website is far behind now but at least you can see that part. Lots of photos, naration and some videos too.
Digging the Well

As far as the fire hydrant, my plan is to use the tank primarily for the hydrant but also for irrigation. I can use up to 1000 gals from the tank for that.

 

[weldingisfun]

Can any of you CA guys clear up a rumor that has been floating around for years?
One of the primary reasons for all the fires out there is because the enviromentalists (tree-huggers) will not allow the underbrush and dead branches to be cleaned up?

 

[Spiveyman]

Can any of you CA guys clear up a rumor that has been floating around for years?
One of the primary reasons for all the fires out there is because the enviromentalists (tree-huggers) will not allow the underbrush and dead branches to be cleaned up?

I was actually going to ask that in a slightly different way when I saw that 1000' fire break comment. Will they let you do a "controlled burn" out there? Seems like if some of the fuel was used up from time to time it might help. I'm not fire fighter, so I'm talking a little over my head here, just seems logical and ultimately better for the environment. The big trees won't be affected by that, and it may save them later on from a real fire.

Also, my question about the hydrant... I saw earlier where you said you might use the excess capacity (1,000 gals) for irrigation. I was curious though if you ever needed to defend your spread from impending doom, could you use that hydrant to put out a fire and protect your house or do you have to wait for the firemen? May be a dumb question, but I'd want to be able to use it if I had to. I guess the danger though is wasting the water, not putting the fire out, and then the fire dept. shows up and you are hosed.

 

[3RRL]

I was actually going to ask that in a slightly different way when I saw that 1000' fire break comment. Will they let you do a "controlled burn" out there? Seems like if some of the fuel was used up from time to time it might help. I'm not fire fighter, so I'm talking a little over my head here, just seems logical and ultimately better for the environment. The big trees won't be affected by that, and it may save them later on from a real fire.

Also, my question about the hydrant... I saw earlier where you said you might use the excess capacity (1,000 gals) for irrigation. I was curious though if you ever needed to defend your spread from impending doom, could you use that hydrant to put out a fire and protect your house or do you have to wait for the firemen? May be a dumb question, but I'd want to be able to use it if I had to. I guess the danger though is wasting the water, not putting the fire out, and then the fire dept. shows up and you are hosed.

welidngisfun and Spiv,
There is a pretty good thread going on about the fires right now that asks those same questions.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/109801-so-cal-wild-fires.html#post1252903

As far as your question about the water supply Spiv, that water supply IS specifically for my home. It's there so the fire department has another source of water if they run out of there's. But yes, I could use it myself before they got there for fire protection for sure.
When the tank starts to drain, the well pump kicks in and starts to refill it. Might not be at the same rate, but the tank will get refilled.

Let me explain a little more.
Some of the homes around here are pretty secluded and some have difficult access for a large fire truck for example. So they send up the 4wd smaller trucks that don't have nearly the water capacity...but they all have big pumps. So if you have a water source, they can have a large supply now. That's what the fire marshal dude wants to know also. When he gets up here, is he going to have a chance to save my home or not? If he sees what I've done to make it so, he will make the effort to get up here and help me defend my home.

Even though the water tank is required for final sign off, that does not necessarily mean it puts you first on their list either. They will choose which homes are most defendable that they can save. Some people have larger tanks than I got. Like 10,000 gals. They use it for irrigation too and have plenty left over to meet the minimum 4,000 gal requirement. Maybe their well doesn't replenish as quickly as mine can?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Can any of you CA guys clear up a rumor that has been floating around for years?
One of the primary reasons for all the fires out there is because the enviromentalists (tree-huggers) will not allow the underbrush and dead branches to be cleaned up?

This is not the primary reason for the fires, it only contributes to the severity of the fire. Most fires here are started from man's carelessness, campfire's when there should be none, a cigarette thrown out the window etc. Most of the fires in San Diego County are not forest fires, but brush & grass fires.

Some of the things that contribute to the severity of the fires are.
As you stated, underbrush and dead trees and limbs left to rot on public grounds, no firewood is allowed to be collected.
Dedicated open spaces, all vegetation growth is UN-managed, you can do nothing in these areas, no motorized traffic of any kind. Foot traffic only.
People being lazy, do not keep their property cleaned up and don't have the 100' cleared area around their homes.
Fires that start during the year are put out as fast as can be. They used to let them burn to a safe margin. Therefore now when there is a fire, there is more to burn and the bigger fires are a lot bigger.

I'm sure that there is a lot more, but that is all for now.

 

[dfkrug]

I have been watching the progress of the fires in SoCal, too. I used
to live in North County (San Diego Cnty) and I know very well some of
the hard-hit areas. Happened in 04, too.

Our version of their Santa Ana winds up here in the SF Bay Area are
called the Diablo winds, and they can be a big problem. (Remember the
Oakland hills fire.) Today is the last day of these winds, hopefully, and the
temps will reach 90 in some places with single-digit humidity.

I will add to MtnViewRanch's list to say that the extreme difficulty of
getting permits to log small parcels limits our ability to manage the
forests here. I never want to battle the State to get permits again.

 

[sandman2234]

I think I would consider a outdoor sprinkler system on the face of that wooden building, as it has got to help deter fires from starting should one ever get close, which is probably going to happen sooner or later the way things go in Kalifornia. The 100' you have cleared won't even slow a fire down here, much less driven by those winds you have.
David from jax