Wildfire Safety

Hardening your home and outbuildings against fire is important to reduce wildfire impact and its spread. Consider the following areas as you harden your home:

Interior

• Keep working fire extinguishers on hand.
• Install a smoke alarm on each level of your home, inside and near all bedrooms.
• Test monthly and replace batteries annually.

Roofs

• Regularly clear your roof and gutters of branches, leaves and other types of debris.
• Roofs made of wood shingle or wood shake are especially vulnerable to fire. Consider other, safer materials:
  • Class A asphalt/fiberglass
  • Sheet metal
  • Tile
  • Concrete

(Eaves are the edges of the roof that overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building.)

• It is important to make sure that your eaves are made with fire-resistant materials and in good condition to ensure that a fire cannot enter your attic.

Vents

• Clean vents regularly.
• Remove debris surrounding these areas.
• Consider installing vent covers to prevent fire from entering through them.

Walls

• Clear exterior walls of foliage and brush.
• Consider fire-resistant building materials from foundation to roof.

Windows and Doors

• Windows and doors must be constructed to withstand high temperatures.
• Regularly inspect windows and doors in your home and make sure they are sealed with no leaks.
• Install dual-pane windows with tempered glass, shutters, insect screens.

Balconies and Decks

• Use fire-resistant and noncombustible materials to repair or add balconies or decks onto your home.
• Eliminate debris and combustible products surrounding these areas.
• Consider fire-resistant and noncombustible furniture in outdoor spaces.

Creating and maintaining a buffer around your home (or defensible space) can reduce the threat and spread of wildfire. Defensible space in your yard extends 30 to 100 feet from your home and includes landscaping such as grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surrounds it. Defensible space can slow down or stop the spread of a wildfire because it distances your home from the embers and radiant heat of active wildfires.

Your yard can be divided into four zones, each needing different forms of preparation.

Zone 1- Defensible Space Zone
Extends 30 feet from home, buildings, structures, decks, etc.

To protect this space:

• Remove all dead vegetation, including plants, leaves, grass and weeds, from your yard, roof, rain gutters, windows and under decks.
• 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 to prevent fire spread in the canopies.
• Relocate wood piles to Zone 2 (see below).
• Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.

Zone 2- Fuel Reduction Zone
Extends 30–60 feet from home, buildings, structures, decks, etc.

To protect this space:

• Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
• Create horizontal and vertical space between shrubs and trees by removing vegetation and allowing plants to be separated by groundcover.
• Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones and small branches.

To protect this space:

• Create horizontal and vertical space between shrubs and trees by removing vegetation and allowing plants to be separated by groundcover.
• Remove or trim low-growing vegetation under pine trees.

To protect this space:

• Engage in fuel management practices to reduce the risk of wildfire threats and to protect property.
• Be aware of adjacent properties that may be prone to wildfire.

• Prioritize staying indoors with windows and doors closed, 
• setting air conditioning to recirculate mode, 
• and using portable HEPA air cleaners. 
• If you must go outside, wear a properly fitted N95 or P100 respirator mask to filter fine particles, as cloth or surgical masks do not provide adequate protection

• Choose a room you can close off from outside air.
• Set up a portable air cleaner or a filter to keep the air in this room cleaner even when it’s smoky outdoors or in the rest of your home.
• Make a plan to keep wildfire smoke out of schools or commercial buildings