MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022 - EPO ZOOM VIDEO MEETING - "Golden Rain Foundation and its Emergency Preparedness Operations."

 

QUESTION: Part of my front yard had redwood chips as ground cover, installed during Rebecca Pollon’s tenure. Over the years, that redwood bark cover has thinned out, perhaps due to turkeys or other people and animal traffic. Now, during recent nearby mulching activity, the gaps in redwood chips have been filled in with noncolored Rossmoor special blend mulch. Redwood is known for its fire resistance, but I don’t know about the mulch. Can you please comment on this in relation to today’s topic?

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ANSWER:  The type of mulch we purchase is C6 Pacific Mulch, which is composted from green materials. Here are some of the benefits of C6 mulch:

 

• Erosion Control

• Water conservation

• Controller Runoff

• Improved moisture retention

• Weed growth protection

• Soil temperature regulation

 

We spread mulch in areas that residents don’t always visit to mostly to help conserve water in those areas and to also prevent weeds from growing. The mulch is not just spread only for an aesthetic purpose.

 

Unfortunately, no organic mulch is 100% fireproof. However, C6 Pacific Mulch is the least flammable of all organic mulch options. The attached study that shows that composted wood chip mulch (like the one we use in Rossmoor) is by far the least flammable mulch material. You will see that composted organic materials (such as C6 Pacific Mulch) showed the slowest spread rate and the shortest average flame length, usually smoldering. Our crews are also instructed to not mulch up to the edges of the buildings, so we avoid dry rot and a potential fire hazard. We also irrigate all areas we place mulch, which greatly reduces the risk of fire. (John Tawaststjerna, Rossmoor Landscape Manager)