Wildfire Safety: Protect Your Home and Community
The United States is experiencing a significant increase in the number of wildfires. Each year, wildfires take lives and burn numerous structures, resulting in mounting costs that have enormous economic and environmental impacts to the nation’s communities and businesses. Wildfires also have devastating impacts on the environment and damage forests, rangelands, watersheds and wildlife.
However, there are steps you can take to protect lives and property at home and in your community.
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- Protect your home from wildfire. These simple steps can help you reduce the risk of wildfire to your home.
- Protect your community from wildfire. Geared toward pubic safety officials, this page will help you develop a community wildfire protection plan, learn about International Code Council activities and view available resources that may be helpful to you.
Protect your Home from Wildfire
Wildfire season has begun. Is your property ready? To help
you prepare, the International Code Council offers the following
recommendations.
Time to do that yard work.
Your yard can be your first, best stand against a wildfire.
You can keep a fire from getting anywhere near the house itself
with some simple landscaping and maintenance.
Look around your yard. See those areas where leaves collect?
Those are the same places where the wind will carry burning
embers during a wildfire.
You can create a defensible space against wildfires. Rake
and remove leaves. Clear dead brush and dense vegetation.
Store your firewood pile and other things that burn easily
at least 30 feet to 100 feet away from the house.
Extra Tip: To keep sparks and flames from getting underneath,
screen under your porch and other open areas with wire mesh
no larger than 1/8 inch.
Check your landscaping. When
landscaping around your property, choose plants with high
moisture content. They are more fire-resistive and can help
to create a firebreak around your home.
Mow your grass and control the height and spread of ground
covering vegetation. Keep plants at least 12 to 18 inches
away from the house.
Trees and shrubs are fine, if well spaced, watered and properly
pruned. Remove dead or low-hanging branches. Make sure to
cut all tree limbs around your chimney and any dead branches
that hang over your roof. And, keep an eye on any limbs that
may come in contact with power lines.
Keep your gutters, eaves and roof clear of leaves and other
debris.
What about other structures?
Decks, porches, fences and out buildings should be considered
part of your home. They need as much attention as the house
itself. Keep wildfire safety in mind when making improvements
to such structures.
Fences act like fuses or fuel bridges. They can lead a fire
right to your home. A combustible wood fence attached to your
house greatly increases the house's potential to ignite. Keep
combustible vegetation away from fencing. Consider fire-resistant
fencing or placing fencing away from structures when making
improvements.
A trellis touching or close to the house can have a similar
risk if it is made of a combustible material or covered with
combustible vegetation.
A patio deck can be hazardous in a wildfire, especially when
combustible materials and debris accumulate beneath it. Clear
debris below the patio deck and create a defensible space
around it.
Fire can travel uphill extremely quickly. Elevated wooden
decks built on hillsides can be especially hazardous because
they are in the direct line of a fire moving up the slope.
When putting on a new patio deck, build from fire-resistant
materials. On new and existing decks, create fire barriers
around the deck base and clear vegetation at least 100 to
300 feet downhill from the deck base.
These simple, low-cost solutions can provide an additional
level of protection to your home.
However, in case of wildfire, if an evacuation is ordered,
leave as soon as possible. Return home only after authorities
say that it is safe to do so.
Helpful Information
Sites for Kids
For more information on wildfire safety, contact
Director of Wildland Fire Programs.
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