Protect Your Home From Fire Get Rid of Your Weeds Now
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MANTECA, CA. Weed abatement is an essential element in fire prevention. “Understanding the basics of fire safety as it relates to property management is essential for homeowners and businesses,” Manteca’s Fire Chief Dave Marques stresses. He continues, “Precautions are necessary to prevent fires from spreading to buildings and causing serious property damage. By carefully maintaining vegetation and removing dead plants and trees promptly, property owners can protect structures more effectively against the devastating effects of fires.”
The Fire Department inspects every parcel of property in the City every year to determine if it presents a fire hazard due to weeds and debris. In a typical year, the Manteca Fire Department issues several hundred notices of violation and this year is already approaching 400.
When violations are observed, property owners/occupants receive a notice of violation providing detailed information about the violation and corrections needed. The responsible party has 30 days to abate the violation. If abatement is not completed after 30 days the parcel may receive a citation for $370 (fees included).
Continued failure to abate the problem can result in additional fines of $335 and $635 for the second and third citations. If the property owner fails to comply within the given time, the City can hire an independent contractor to abate the property.
The fire department’s Prevention Bureau is tasked with enforcing the City ordinance governing property owners’ responsibility to control weeds or other growth on their property to reduce fire hazards.
“Our focus is on prevention,” Chief Marques explains. “We are actively reducing the likelihood of fires, burns, and environmental impact while mitigating the severity of events that do occur.”
The fire department is responsible for protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Manteca. As a full-service fire department, it provides fire protection, emergency medical care, hazardous materials response, community risk reduction, water rescue, and emergency operations preparations and oversight.”
ABATEMENT GUIDELINES
The following abatement guidelines apply to all property within the City of Manteca:
- ALL PROPERTIES: All weeds, rubbish, excess dirt, trash, dry vegetation, discarded furniture, appliances, garbage, auto parts, or other material that constitutes a public nuisance, must be abated from the property, fence line to fence line.
- A property of half an acre or more: Mow all vegetation to a maximum of 4 to 6 inches in height. Remove all grass, weeds, or debris from the property. Disc or Till the Entire Property.
- Property of half an acre or less: Mow all vegetation to a maximum of 4 to 6 inches in height. Rake and remove all dry grasses.
- ALLEYS: Mow all grass and/or weeds to a maximum of 4 to 6 inches in height. Fence lines must be clean and free of weeds. Any and all combustibles must be removed. This includes but is not limited to, trash, rubbish, dry grass, prunings, clippings, auto parts, furniture, etc.
- TREES AND SHRUBS: All dead trees, shrubs, and bushes must be cut down and removed from the property. Prunings must also be removed from the property.
Rules for weed control can be found in Municipal Code Chapter 8.16 and are available for viewing on the City’s website at https://www.manteca.gov. If you have questions about the weed abatement program or would like to report a property that is not being maintained, call the Fire Prevention Bureau at (209) 456-8340 or email info@manteca.gov.
Manteca is a full-service City with police, fire, public works, water, trash, and sewer services. For more information call the City Manager’s office at (209) 456-8000, email Feedback@manteca.gov, or go online to https://www.manteca.gov.
Incorporated in 1918, Manteca has a diverse population of 86,928. Manteca continues to grow at 4.1 percent a year. The City has 25,670 households with a median home price of $432,100. The median annual household income is $82,538.