Wildfires and how to protect your home

Wildfires can spread fast, and embers can travel miles ahead of the main fire. Protecting your home means preparing your property before fire season and knowing what to do if one approaches. Here’s a guide:

🔥 How to Protect Your Home from Wildfires

1. Create Defensible Space (Buffer Zones Around Your Home)

  • 0–5 feet (Immediate Zone):
    • Keep this area completely free of flammable materials.
    • Use gravel, stone, or concrete instead of mulch.
    • Trim back shrubs and remove dead vegetation.
    • Store firewood, propane tanks, and other combustibles away from the house.
  • 5–30 feet (Intermediate Zone):
    • Plant fire-resistant shrubs/trees spaced widely apart.
    • Keep grass mowed to less than 4 inches.
    • Prune tree branches at least 6–10 feet above the ground.
  • 30–100 feet (Extended Zone):
    • Thin trees so crowns are at least 10–12 feet apart.
    • Remove brush and dead trees.
    • Create fuel breaks with driveways, walkways, or irrigated lawns.

2. Hardening Your Home

  • Roof: Use Class A fire-resistant materials (metal, tile, or asphalt shingles rated fire-safe). Keep gutters clear of leaves.
  • Vents: Cover attic and crawl space vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh to block embers.
  • Windows: Install dual-pane or tempered glass windows to reduce shattering risk.
  • Siding & Decking: Use non-combustible siding (stucco, fiber cement, metal) and fire-resistant decking materials.
  • Fencing: Replace wooden fencing attached to the house with metal or masonry near the structure.

3. Emergency Preparedness

  • Create an evacuation plan with multiple routes.
  • Pack a go-bag (medications, documents, clothing, water, phone chargers).
  • Keep an emergency water supply (hoses long enough to reach all areas of your property).
  • Make sure firefighters can easily find and access your home (visible address, wide driveway, cleared vegetation).

4. Ongoing Maintenance

  • Regularly clear leaves, pine needles, and debris from roof, gutters, and decks.
  • Inspect property each season for dead plants and overgrown vegetation.
  • Test sprinklers and garden hoses.

✅ Bottom line: A wildfire-safe home is a combination of defensible space + fire-resistant building materials + an emergency plan.