Defensible Space Clearing in Del Rey Oaks, CA

Oak lots, Canyon Del Rey and the open land next door

The city calls itself a safe, small town in the sunbelt of the Monterey Peninsula. It covers about 1.1 square miles. Seaside borders it on the north, and Monterey wraps around the west and south. Route 218 runs through Canyon Del Rey, from Highway 1 to Highway 68.

Before the city incorporated in 1953, the town was called Del Rey Woods. The 17-acre Frog Pond Wetland Preserve, run by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, sits in the city. Coast live oak, arroyo willow and Monterey pine surround it. The preserve is closed until further notice for FORTAG trail construction.

Many homes here are older. By the Census Bureau's latest estimate, the median home was built in 1958. Most are lived in by their owners. On lots that old, oaks and brush have had years to fill in. Dry grass and brush also build up where a yard backs up to open land.

What does the 2025 fire hazard map show for Del Rey Oaks?

CAL FIRE's 2025 fire hazard map covers cities and other local areas. In Del Rey Oaks, it shows no Very High zone. About 519 acres, most of the city, are mapped High, and about 47 acres Moderate. The earlier map showed about 56 acres of Very High.

Most of the city still sits in the High zone. A state law on home sales covers High and Very High zones, so the map matters when you sell. For questions about your parcel's zone, ask Seaside Fire, which provides the city's fire service.

The county's wildfire plan also rates Del Rey Oaks. The plan was written in 2010 and has had later updates. Its Table 13 rates the city High for fuel hazard and High for how easily homes could catch fire. It puts Del Rey Oaks at High priority for fuel reduction overall. The risk of a fire starting is rated Medium.

Why the former Fort Ord matters in Del Rey Oaks

The former Fort Ord lies at the city's edge. The county plan says the edges of Monterey, Del Rey Oaks, Seaside, Marina and other communities ring its open land. It says that land may be the county's single greatest fuel and fire threat to homes at the wildland edge.

The plan puts the highest threat in about 6,500 acres of maritime chaparral in the old Multi Range Area. Leftover munitions there make firefighting harder, especially near Del Rey Oaks and Seaside. Near Del Rey Oaks, unexploded ordnance lies close to where the homes end, the plan says. That can limit how firefighters attack a fire there, on the ground and from the air.

The plan also notes that ground winds could push an uncontrolled fire toward Canyon Del Rey. In severe weather, it expects embers to start spot fires up to one mile ahead. A 200 to 300 foot fuel break along South Boundary Road somewhat slows a fire's front, it says. It does little against spot fires.

For Del Rey Oaks, the plan lists BLM fuel breaks on Henneken Road and Manzanita Road, plus goat grazing. Along General Jim Moore Boulevard, Del Rey Oaks and Seaside own land next to the Army's former range. The plan says those parcels need a 200 foot setback for flammable buildings, unless a firewise plan is approved. Public agencies manage that open land. The ground around your house is the part you control.

Defensible space clearing on Del Rey Oaks lots

Defensible space is the ground around a house that slows a fire and gives firefighters room to work. On a Del Rey Oaks lot, the dead brush comes out and the dry grass gets cut low. Brush and saplings under the oaks get thinned, so a fire has a harder time climbing into the trees. We also clear around propane tanks and outbuildings.

Where a lot faces open space, the back edge is where brush and dry grass pile up. The brush mower takes the grass, and forestry mulching grinds brush and saplings into mulch where they stand. Along a back fence line, a fire break of mowed grass and masticated brush can slow a fire. Larger trees and limbing are a tree service's work.

Vacant lots grow tall grass in spring, and by early summer it is dry. Weed abatement cuts it down with the brush mower. Lot clearing opens up a lot before a sale or a build. If a notice came about the lot, send us a photo of it. We plan the work around what it asks for and by when.

HOAs and property managers can put mowing and brush work on a seasonal schedule with vegetation management. We look at the property, or you send photos, and the quote comes in writing.