According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are large fires currently burning in Alaska, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and of course, here in Colorado. As we’ve seen, fires can be caused due to weather and nature or man, sometimes accidentally or unfortunately, on purpose. Even if you don’t live in a forest, with the right mix of heat and drought, your home can be in danger of burning, even if you live in a “neighborhood.” All it takes is a tossed cigarette butt from a neighbor or a strike of lightening to hit a tree. There are a lot of fire mitigation companies that will come to your home, assess the danger, and clear your property to make it safer. This of course costs money (check with your insurance company for write-off information and credits they might offer.) But there are a lot of ways you can help reduce the risk of your home burning down in case of a fire, which you can do yourself quite easily.
A Message From Fire Marshal Brett Lacey, Colorado Springs Fire Department:
“Defending against wildfire is everybody’s responsibility. The work you do on your property goes beyond reducing your own risk, it also impacts your neighbors. Your efforts to mitigate your property ahead of time will improve fire fighter safety in the event of a wildfire. We recognize that mitigation work does not guarantee the survivability of a structure. However if homeowners follow guidelines, we can significantly reduce wildfire risk. Thank you for working together and ‘sharing the responsibility.'”
Ways YOU Can Reduce Your Fire Risk –
- Create Defensible Space…Vegetative clearance around the house (defensible space) is a primary determinant of a home’s ability to survive wildfire. Defensible space is room for firefighters to do their job. If grasses, brush, trees and other common forest fuels are removed, reduced, or modified to lessen a fire’s intensity and keep it away from the home, chances increase that the structure will survive. Part of creating defensible space is vegetation management, which includes the thinning and removal of natural vegetation surrounding your home. The Colorado Springs Fire Department recommends creating at least 10 feet of separation immediately around the home as well as thinning and removal of vegetation to a minimum of 30 feet, but not to extend beyond the property line. You can manage the vegetation beyond 30 feet as long as you do not encroach on your neighbor. “Remember; you can’t treat what you don’t own.” (I actually garden part of our neighbor’s yard they can’t see but we can and is close to our home…I asked if I could keep it watered, weeded and raked and they said, “SURE!”*The CSFD does NOT recommend clearcutting (when most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down.)
- Keep rain gutters clear of leaves and pine needles.
- Do not use the area on or under decks for storage. This includes combustibles and firewood.
- Rake up pine needles and leaves within 30 feet of any structure.
- Select plant species with fire resistant characteristics*.
*A fire-resistant plant does not mean fireproof…even fire-resistant plants will burn if not well maintained. Be sure to keep all of your landscape plants healthy with appropriate watering, pruning, etc. Fire-resistant plants are those that do not readily ignite from a flame or other ignition sources. These plants can be damaged or even killed by fire; however, their foliage and stems do not significantly contribute to the fuel and, therefore, the fire’s intensity. There are several other significant factors that influence the fire characteristics of plants, including plant moisture content, age, total volume, dead material, and chemical content.
PLANTS THAT ARE FIRE-RESISTANT have the following characteristics:
- Leaves are moist and supple.
- Plants have little dead wood and tend not to accumulate dry, dead material within the plant.
- Sap is water-like and does not have a strong odor.
- Sap or resin materials are low.
- Most deciduous trees and shrubs are fire-resistant.
PLANTS THAT ARE HIGHLY FLAMMABLE generally have several of these characteristics:
- Contain fine, dry, or dead material in the plant, such as twigs, needles, and leaves.
- Leaves, twigs, and stems contain volatile waxes, terpenes, (organic compounds) or oils.
- Leaves are aromatic (strong odor when crushed.)
- Sap is gummy, resinous, has a strong odor.
- May have loose or papery bark.
- Keep grasses mowed to a maximum of 4 inches.
- Incorporate landscape designs to break up fuels continuity (paths, rock walls, gravel, etc.)
- Keep address clearly marked and visible from both directions of traffic, which makes it much easier for firefighters to find you.
- Prune lower branches. Removing ladder fuels will help keep fire from getting into the crowns of trees. Remove dead or diseased trees and brush.
- When making home improvements or repairs, consider wildfire safety. Install Class-A roofing and fire-resistant siding. Remember to check with your insurance company for discounts, rebates, etc.
CHIPPING PROGRAM –
The Colorado Springs Fire Department will come to your neighborhood and remove tree branches that have been cut and stacked. For the chipping program schedule visit http://www.springsgov.com/units/fire/Wildfire/2013%20Website%20Chipping%20Schedule.pdf You can check with your own local fire department to see if they offer this service. *Because of the fires I don’t know if this schedule is still current…
For some of the best and easy to understand information on Fire-Resistant Landscaping (from Colorado State University) visit
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06303.html
Involve The Whole Family!
Plan a day the entire family can chip in to help reduce fire risk to your home. Write out a list of what needs to be done, let everyone volunteer for what they’re best suited for and make it a fun day. Make sure you have plenty of drinks and trash bags on hand. You can also make this a time of discussing fire safety and if your family prays, maybe send up a little prayer for those who have lost their homes because of fire. This is also a great time to talk about evacuation plans and make sure everyone in the house knows where the best escape routes are to get out of the house. You could also practice a fire-drill and talk about what each member would be responsible for grabbing (if there’s time) if a mandatory evacuation were to occur in your neighborhood.