California’s 2018 wildfire season was one of the most destructive on record, causing billions of dollars in damages and killing almost 100 people.  As we approach a new fire season, prevention is vital. A recent McClatchy analysis revealed that “more than 350,000 Californians live in towns and cities that exist almost entirely within “very high fire hazard severity zones” — Cal Fire’s designation for places highly vulnerable to devastating wildfires” that are also within local, not state responsibility (AP, 2019).  All California NHD reports will disclose whether a property is in a VHFHS zone.  There are specific safety requirements for landowners whose properties  lie within this zone, including codes for new construction, flammable vegetation clearance, and other fire safety practices – please contact your local authorities for more information.  CAL Fire has provided the following guidelines to help home owners protect their properties:

Defensible Space Zones

Defensible space is two zones that make up the required 100 feet of defensible space.

• Zone 1– Extends 30 feet from buildings, structures, decks, etc.
  • Remove all dead plants, grass, and weeds (vegetation), etc.
  • Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof, and rain gutters.
  • Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 ft from other trees.
  • Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 ft away from your chimney.
  • Relocate wood piles in Zone 2.
  • Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
  • Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.
  • Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.

    * Check with your local fire department for any additional defensive space or weed abatement ordinances.

• Zone 2– Extends at least 100 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc.
  • Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
  • Create horizontal spacing between shrubs and trees.
  • Create vertical spacing between grass, shrubs and trees.
  • Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of 3 inches.

    * Check with your local fire department for any additional defensive space or weed abatement ordinances.

Plant and tree spacing

The Spacing between all vegetation is important to reduce the spread of fires.  Spacing is determined by the type and size of brush, and trees as well as the slope of the property. For example, a property on a steep slope with larger vegetation requires greater spacing between trees and shrubs.  A level property that has small shrubs and trees would require less.

• Vertical Spacing
  • Remove all tree branches at least 6 ft from the ground.
  • Allow extra vertical space between shrubs and trees.
    • Lack of vertical space can allow a fire to move from the ground to the brush to the trees tops like a ladder.
    • Example: Spacing should be 3 times the height of the shrub. A five-foot shrub growing near a tree should have 3X5= 15 feet clearance between the top of the shrub and the lowest tree branch.

• Horizontal Spacing
  • Depends on the slope of the land and the height of the shrubs and trees.
  • Flat to mild slopes (less than 20%)
    • Distance between shrubs should equal 2x the height of the shrubs.
    • Distance between trees should be 10ft.
  • Mild to moderate slope (20%-40%)
    • Distance between shrubs should equal 4x the height of the shrubs.
    • Distance between trees should be 20ft.
  • Moderate to steep slope (greater than 40%)
    • Distance between shrubs should equal 6x the height of the shrubs.
    • Distance between trees should be 30ft.

• Fire-resistant Landscaping
  • Fire-resistant landscaping consists of using “fire-resistant plants” that are strategically planted to resist the spread of fire to your home.
  • Fire-resistant landscaping doesn’t have to be expensive and can increase your property value and conserve water.
  • This is not the same thing as a having a well-maintained yard.

The above Defensible Space Guidelines are taken from Cal Fire’s website at:
http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Defensible-Space

Flyers are downloadable at:
http://www.readyforwildfire.org/docs/files/File/DefensibleSpaceFlyer.pdf

Associated Press, (2019). California races to deter disaster as towns face fire risk. Available at:
https://apnews.com/13c447e2153b43c99be0182a10b469c5