Old dry brush is what needs removing and cleared totally away from housing. It would not need to be except or those winds you have. I have noticed most fires start down and run up the hill, that maybe the place to clear the most, then fire breaks in the mountains in places to keep the fire better to control. This works, we had similar problems when I was you, fire never help and landslides sure do happen after fires. The only plant we used to stop landslides was Kutzu and you have to control it. Mostly it to bring in people to study the fire patterns and that would be going back to as many fires as possible, where they start and most are set by accidents and sometime deliberate, other things that could start them should be studied. One thing for sure, where they start is the focal point, if most start down and work up, that where you put most of the start of work to fix it.

The breaks keep home from burning most of the time, no grass can burn if it not there to burn. Winds pick of sparks and carry them a long way sometimes, most of the time it just not far and if the first is easier to put out, there won't be more, fire in wind is carried from fire to fire. I been watch how these seem to spread, running the ground first.