PCWA Partners with Local Scouts to Transform Fire Station Lawn to a Fire and Water-Wise Landscape

Eagle Scout candidates Cody Hansen and David Hurren of Rocklin partnered with PCWA and the City of Auburn Fire Department in 2019 to makeover the thirsty turf at Auburn’s Maidu Fire Station into a fire-resistant, water-wise landscape. The project was part of their application to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America.

A fire-resistant landscape features plants less likely to catch fire placed in ways to resist the spread of fire to a home. These plants can be damaged or even killed by fire, but their foliage and stems are less likely to significantly contribute to the fuel and fire's intensity as long as they are properly maintained, pruned and watered.

Fire-resistant plants are great in California, because they are often native and/or drought tolerant, too. The new landscape now includes more than 100 beautiful flowers, plants and shrubs that are both fire-resistant and water-wise.

The garden also features state-of-the art drip irrigation and a WaterSense-labeled weather-based sprinkler timer. The drip irrigation, placed below the soil surface in a grid pattern, delivers water at the root zone with zero evaporation. The sprinkler timer uses local weather conditions to deliver just the right amount of water plants need to be healthy.