It's time to get ready for wildfire season - start by creating a defensible space

It's May, and during each week of the month we will highlight a different way that you can take steps now to help protect your property this summer.  For this first post, let's talk a little about defensible space.  It's tough for modern northwest Oregon residents to appreciate the shear size of a massive threatening wildfire, it's been decades since a large fire occurred in our part of Oregon, but these fires can be so big that as firefighters are stretched to the limits they must begin to prioritize what homes can be protected, and that starts with the defensible space around your home.

The amount of defensible space you need is dependent on the terrain around your home, if you live in steep country you will likely need to make more room as wildfires burn more severely up steep slopes, but a good rule of thumb is to start with the first thirty (30) feet around your home.  We call this initial 30 feet the primary fire break, and it truly is the best line of defense for not only protecting your home from a wildfire, but it can help prevent a home fire from spreading to the woods too.  If you live with the woods in view of your home, these are some simple steps that you can take to improve your primary fire break:

• Get rid of the dead stuff.  Any vegetation, trees, brush, grass that is dead or dying needs to be removed from this area, but don't stop there.  Check your roof, gutters, around your siding and foundation, as well as under decks and porches to make sure limbs, needles, cones, and leaves, are all cleared out.  In a wildfire sparks can blow ahead of the fire front for long distances, and this debris can easily be ignited.
• Store firewood and other combustible materials at least 20 feet away from your home or structures.
   
• Trim back the trees that are in direct contact with the home's roof or siding materials, and consider removing any and all trees that are within your primary fire break.
• Limit barkdust, wood chips, and other combustible landscaping materials that directly contacts your home.
• Keep your landscaping in this area watered, and only plant native, or fire resistant plants in this primary fire break.  A pamphlet on fire resistant plants can be found here http://www.firefree.org/images/uploads/FIR_FireResPlants_07.pdf

An example of defensible spaces is shown here.  Photo credit to www.readyforwildfire.org

 
Beyond this primary fire break it's also important to consider a secondary fire break.  A secondary fire break should extend at least 100 feet beyond your initial 30 feet of primary fire break.  Steps you can take inside your secondary fire break include:

• Keeping the forest around your home healthy with effective thinning allowing trees to mature and grow.  Remove any dead or dying trees from this area and allow enough space for trees to avoid massed contact with each other.
• Remove the "ladder fuels" that allow a fire burning on the ground to spread to the forest canopy.  Once the tops, or crowns, of the trees begin to burn a "crown fire" becomes the major threat that makes firefighting efforts very complicated and difficult.  Ladder fuels are the brush and small trees near the forest floor that can easily spread the flames into the tree tops.
• Talk to your neighbors, organize work parties to work together and share resources such as tools and heavy equipment to help clear these areas.



The value of a defensible space can be seen in this photo.  Photo credit to the Sacremento Bee www.sacbee.com

For more information, or to schedule a consultation of your home's defensible space, please contact our Fire Prevention Division Monday through Friday at 503-992-3240.