Small changes to your home and your landscape can make a big difference. These changes make your home and your land more resistant to the impacts of wildfire.
Use the suggestions for each zone below to get started.
Remember, embers are more likely to ignite you home in a wildfire than direct flames.
You may not be able to do everything on the list, but each small step counts toward a safer home.
The immediate zone is 0-5 feet from the home.
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Clean roofs and gutters by removing dead leaves, debris and pine needles that could catch embers.
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Move any flammable material away from outside walls – mulch, flammable plants, leaves and needles, firewood piles – anything that can burn.
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Move anything stored underneath decks or porches.
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Replace or repair any loose or missing shingles or roof tiles to prevent embers catching.
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Install 1/8 inch metal mesh screening on all vents to prevent embers landing inside.
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Repair or replace damaged or loose window screens and any broken windows
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Screen or box-in areas below patios and decks with wire mesh to prevent debris from accumulating.
The intermediate zone is between 5 and 30 feet from the home.
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Clear vegetation 10 feet around stationary propane tanks. Tanks should be at least 30 feet from the home.
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Create fuel breaks with driveways, walkways/paths, patios, and decks.
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Keep lawns and native grasses mowed to a height of four inches.
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Remove ladder fuels (vegetation under trees) so a surface fire cannot reach the crowns. Prune trees up to six to ten feet from the ground; for shorter trees do not exceed 1/3 of the overall tree height.
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Space trees to have a minimum of eighteen feet between crowns with the distance increasing with the percentage of slope.
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Tree placement should be planned to ensure the mature canopy is no closer than ten feet to the edge of the structure.
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Tree and shrubs in this zone should be limited to small clusters of a few each to break up the continuity of the vegetation across the landscape.
The extended zone is between 30 feet to 100 feet from the home.
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Dispose of heavy accumulations of ground litter/debris.
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Remove dead plant and tree material.
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Remove small conifers growing between mature trees.
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Remove vegetation adjacent to storage sheds or other outbuildings within this area.
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Trees 30 to 60 feet from the home should have at least 12 feet between canopy tops.*
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Trees 60 to 100 feet from the home should have at least 6 feet between the canopy tops.*
*These distances should be greater on sloped terrain
Create Breaks
Stone walls, paths, and patios create fire-resistant zones around your home.
firewise shrubs
Use Ground cover
Honeysuckle, hedging roses, and sumac have higher water content to resist ignition.
Ice plants, rockrose, and aloe provide fire resistant ground cover and reduce ladder fuels.
spacing matters
Provide space between shrubs and trees to reduce potential for fire to spread.
firewise trees
strategic plant beds
Conifers have high sap content and fire potential. Consider cottonwoods, willows, and aspens.
Use rocks, mulch, and flower beds as ground cover for bare spaces to create fire breaks.
Financial Resources
Two Rivers Wildfire Coalition assists neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Ambassador Program.
CSFS and BLM Grants are subject to change as funding is available.
Income tax credit up to $2,500 for mitigation work.
Mitigation grants available to individuals and HOAs.
Mitigation grants available to individuals and HOAs.