Protect your home from Wildfires

According to Cal Fire, the best way to protect your home from wildfires are Home Hardening and having a Defensible Space, what this means is:

"Home hardening" refers to building resistant materials and home features that protect a home from catching fire. Did you know that flying embers can destroy a home up to a mile ahead of a wildfire? This is why the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ("Cal Fire") urges all homeowners within fire hazard zones to make needed home hardening retro-fits. Common home hardening retro-fits include: 

• Replace wood or shingle roof

• Cover vents with metal mesh

• Eaves should be non-combustible

• Remove combustible landscaping within five feet of home

• Install dual paned, tempered glass windows

• Walls made of resistant material, not boards or shingles

• Decks and patio covers made of fire resistant materials

• Screen or enclose rain gutters to prevent debris

• Chimney outlet metal screened

• Have a ready water supply to all parts of your home

• Make sure home is accessible to emergency vehicles

• Fix loose or missing bird stopping

Defensible space is the name for a 100-foot area that owners of properties located in fire zones must maintain around structures on their property. Creating and maintaining defensible space is important to slow the spread of wildfires and reduce the likelihood that the structure will catch fire. It also is important for protecting firefighters who may be on the property defending the structure.

Defensible space is composed of two zones. Zone 1 extends 30 feet (although some localities could extend it further) from buildings and other structures on the property. Within Zone 1, property owners are required to:

• Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).

• Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.

• Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.

• Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.

• Relocate wood piles to 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.

Zone 2 extends 100 feet out from buildings and other structures. Property owners must do the following within Zone 2:

• Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.

• Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees.

• Create vertical space 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.

For more information go to the Cal Fire Website https://www.fire.ca.gov