Wildfires destroy thousands of homes and devastate hundreds of thousands of acres of woodland every year. If you live in a forested or wildland area, you face the real danger of wildfire, and protecting your home from wildfire is your responsibility.
Landscape for Fire Safety
All vegetation is fuel for a wildfire, though some trees and shrubs burn more readily than others. The greater the distance is between your home and vegetation, the greater the protection. You can manage your landscape to reduce the risk:
Create a 30-foot safety zone around the house. Minimize the amount of vegetation in this zone. If you live on a hill, extend the zone on the downhill side because fire spreads rapidly uphill. The steeper the slope, the more open space you need to protect your home. To create the zone, do the following:
- Keep the area clear of dried leaves, dead plants and other plant litter that burns easily.
- Clear away vegetation growing next to the house, including vines that climb the sides of the house.
- Prune branches and shrubs within 15 feet of chimneys and stove pipes.
- Remove low branches — fire climbs them like a ladder.
- Prune trees to create a 15-foot gap between their canopies.
- Replace highly flammable vegetation such as pine, eucalyptus, junipers and fir trees with lower growing, less flammable species. Check with your local fire department or garden center for suggestions.
- Keep the lawn no more than 2 inches tall. Watch grass and other vegetation near the driveway, a source of ignition from automobile exhaust systems.
- Clear the area of leaves, brush, evergreen cones, dead limbs and fallen trees.
Create a second zone at least 100 feet around the house. This zone should begin about 30 feet from the house and extend to at least 100 feet. In this zone, reduce or replace as much of the most flammable vegetation as possible. If you live on a hill, you may need to extend the zone for several hundred feet to provide the desired level of safety.
Clear all combustibles within 30 feet of any structure.
- Install electrical lines underground, if possible
- Ask the power company to clear branches from power lines.
- Avoid using bark and wood chip mulch
- Stack firewood 100 feet away and uphill from any structure.
- Store combustible or flammable materials in approved safety containers and keep them away from the house.
- Keep the gas grill and propane tank at least 15 feet from any structure. Clear an area 15 feet around the grill. Place a 1/4 inch mesh screen over the grill. Always use the grill cautiously but refrain from using it all during high risk times.
Maintain to Remove Combustibles
- Clear leaves, trash and other combustible materials away from the house, including below decks and porches.
- Use non-combustible patio furniture and covers.
- Clear gutters of leaves and debris
- Keep the chimney clean.
Build or Update for Fire Resistance
- Choose locations wisely. Canyons and slopes increase the risk of exposure to fire.
- Use fire-resistant materials siding such as stucco, metal, brick, cement shingles, concrete and rock. You can treat wood siding with UL-approved fire retardant chemicals, but the treatment and protection are not permanent.
- Use non-combustible materials for the roof. The roof is especially vulnerable in a wildfire. Embers and flaming debris can travel great distances, land on your roof and start a new fire. Avoid flammable roofing materials such as wood, shake and shingle. Materials that are more fire resistant include single ply membranes, fiberglass shingles, slate, metal, clay and concrete tile.
- Choose safety glass for windows and sliding glass doors. Windows allow radiated heat to pass through and ignite combustible materials inside. The larger the pane of glass, the more vulnerable it is to fire. Dual- or triple-pane thermal glass, and fire resistant shutters or drapes, help reduce the wildfire risk. You can also install non-combustible awnings to shield windows and use shatter-resistant glazing such as tempered or wireglass.
- Enclose overhangs such as eaves, porches and decks. Ideally, you should avoid designs with decks, porches, eaves and other overhangs: the exposed space underneath is fuel for an approaching fire and traps the heat rising along the exterior siding. If you must have overhangs, enclose the space below with half-inch mesh screen down to the ground. Enclose wooden stilts with non-combustible material such as concrete, brick, rock, stucco or metal.
- Prepare for water storage. Develop an external water supply such as a small pond, well or pool.
- Install spark arrestors in chimneys and stovepipes. Chimneys create a hazard when embers escape through the top. To prevent this, install spark arrestors on all chimneys, stovepipes and vents for fuel-burning heaters. Use spark arrestors made of 12-gauge welded or woven wire mesh screen with openings 1/2 inch across. Ask your fire department for exact specifications. If you're building a chimney, use non-combustible materials and make sure the top of the chimney is at least two feet higher than any obstruction within 10 feet of the chimney.
- Cover house vents with wire mesh. Any attic vent, soffit vent, louver or other opening can allow embers and flaming debris to enter a home and ignite it. Cover all openings with 1/4 inch or smaller corrosion-resistant wire mesh. If you're designing louvers, place them in the vertical wall rather than the soffit of the overhang.
Learn and Teach Safe Fire Practices
- Build fires away from nearby trees or bushes.
- Always have a way to extinguish the fire quickly and completely.
- Install smoke detectors on every level of your home and near sleeping areas.
- Never leave a fire — even a cigarette — burning unattended.
- Avoid open burning completely, especially during dry season.
- Always be ready for an emergency evacuation. Evacuation may be the only way to protect your family in a wildfire. Know where to go and what to bring with you. You should plan several escape routes in case roads are blocked.
- Build fires away from nearby trees or bushes.
Information provided by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
