7 Essential Strategies To Reduce Wildfire Dangers Around Your Home

For those of us living in Placerville, Shingle Springs, Cameron Park, South Lake Tahoe, and surrounding towns in El Dorado County, we know all too well that wildfires are an ever existing clear and present danger.

Wildfires come out of nowhere and wreak almost immediate havoc across the area. They are most prevalent during hot and dry summer months, but with the heavy vegetation through the county’s dense forests, wildfires can happen at any time of the year.

While El Dorado’s Calfire professionals are quick to react to fires with battle-tested expertise and professionalism, sometimes a fire moves so swiftly that damage cannot be immediately contained, especially if the fire is spreading in areas of dense vegetation.

Calfire and the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council have provided a number of guidelines for residents to help slow the spread of fires and mitigate the potential damage they can cause. Some of these fire safe strategies are Do-It-Yourself, while others may require professional defensible space clearing from a certified defensible space evaluator like Hargo’s Land Management.

Understanding Defensible Space Zones

First thing’s first. Before beginning a defensible space fire mitigation strategy it’s important to understand defensible space zones around your home. These zones have been recommended by State, County, and Local fire experts as a line of defense to protect your home and other structures on your property for up to 100 feet away.  They are also inspected and assessed by home and fire insurance companies when your property is being assessed for insurance eligibility.

Here is a quick breakdown of these zones and what they encompass:

• Zone 2: Covers the area from 30 feet to 100 feet away from your home.
• Zone 1: The “lean, clean, and green zone,” as it’s often called, is the area from 5 feet to 30 feet away from your home.
• Zone 0: This is referred to as the “ember-resistant zone” and is closest to your home. It covers everything within 5 feet if your home.

The following image is provided courtesy of Calfire to help you visualize these zones:

Do-It-Yourself Strategies To Reduce Fire Dangers Around Your Home

When clearing a defensible fire space around your home you’ll want to start closest to your home and work your way out. So, we’ll start with Zone 0, which covers the initial 5 feet around our home. You can expand this area to include the first 10 feet around your home to be extra cautious.

This zone usually contains the least amount of dense vegetation, making it possible to clear in a relatively short period of time. It may require basic tools like a shovel, trimmer, lawn mower, weed eater, wheel barrow, and some good old fashioned elbow grease.

1. Hardscape Instead of Landscape
   Mulch, bark or other combustible landscaping may be tempting, but can act as fuel for a fire, especially when embers are falling from the sky. Instead of these common landscaping materials consider using gravel, dirt, or concrete within the first 5 feet of your home’s perimeter.
2. Remove Dead or Dying Vegetation
   Fires love light brush and vegetation. Dead or dying plants are one of their favorite fuel sources. Be sure to inspect Zone 0 around your home every couple of months and remove all weeds, leaves, needles, brush, and other debris. Don’t just focus on the ground in Zone 0. You should regularly clear your roof, deck, porch, patio, and gutters.
3. Trim Branches and Remove Larger Tree Limbs
   If you have trees near your home, their branches may be getting a bit too close to your chimney or stovepipe. Be sure these are trimmed and at least 10 feet away from these fire hazards. If there are larger tree limbs near your chimney or roof, you may require professional assistance. Large tree branches and limbs could pose a fire danger or may require professional hazardous tree removal service for safety reasons and to qualify for home insurance.
4. Relocate Firewood and Lumber
   It gets cold in El Dorado County during late fall, winter, and early spring, so you may not like this particular suggestion, but it is nonetheless an important strategy to reduce fire danger. Fire experts recommend moving your firewood pile to Zone 2, about 30 feet away from your home. This includes lumber, as well.
5. Move or Minimize Combustible Items On Decks and Patios
   If at all possible, move patio furniture, especially highly combustible furniture, away from the immediate vicinity of your home and relocate this outdoor furniture to Zone 1, at least 5 feet away. This is especially true if your furniture is on a wooden deck.
6. Replace Gates and Fencing
   While not legally required at this time, professionals recommend replacing combustible gates, fences, and arbors that are located in Zone 0 with fire-resistant material.
7. Relocate Other Potential Fire Hazards
   Garbage bins and recycling containers should be relocated outside of the 5-foot zone around your home if at all possible. Other potential hazards may include vehicles, RV’s and boats, all of which should be parked outside of Zone 0 if space is available.

When To Call In The Professionals

The above DIY strategies are easy to implement and inspection of Zone 0 should be performed on a regular basis to minimize potential fire dangers in the immediate vicinity of your home.

You should also venture out into Zone 1 and Zone 2 on a regular basis to ensure fallen trees, brush and other dense vegetation are removed. Be sure to mow grass and perform yearly weed abatement.

You’ll need to prune trees and bushes, and keep trees and their branches spaced at least 10 feet apart horizontally and trimmed at least 6 feet from the ground across all of the zones around your home.

With heavy vegetation and tree growth throughout El Dorado County, professional tree service, brush removal, and mastication may be the most optimal solution for efficiency and safety, especially for strategies requiring clearing of dense vegetation with heavier machinery and tools.