Wildfire Preparation

Wildfire will always be a part of the California landscape. Helping homeowners and residents achieve greater wildfire resiliency will take a coupled approach and greater awareness of ember protection. Homes survive wildfire through a combination of:

1. Careful design and maintenance of landscaping
2. Awareness and management of combustible materials on the property (e.g., leaf litter, wood piles, and lawn furniture).
3. Incorporation of fire- and ember-resistant construction materials with appropriate installation and maintenance.

Use the following resources to understand your risks, identify resources, and to develop strategies to substantially improve the odds a home will survive a future wildfire. These actions do not have to be costly, but they do require an understanding of the three types of exposures a home may experience when threatened by wildfire.

Identify Your Local Fire Hazard Ranking

Create Defensible Space Defensible space does more than just preventing fire from reaching your home. Defensible space gives fire fighters a safe area from which they can defend your property.

Reduce Landscape Fuels In addition to the area directly around the home, consider your proximity to hazardous fuels. Fire can build energy as it moves through a natural area, making it an unstoppable force by the time it reaches you. Prevent this with strategic landscape treatments before you are placed at risk.

Use Fire-Adapted Landscaping Home landscaping in California must consider threat from fire. The best plants are low lying species with strong root systems that can easily respond to fire.