PREPARE YOUR PROPERTY

Zone 0 is key for wildfire defense and preventing fires from spreading to your home. Here are the current guidelines:

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Zone 1 extends from 5ft to at least 50ft. Fuels need to be reduced in this zone.

Remove all dead grasses, weeds, fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches.
Remove “Gorilla Hair” or shredded bark mulch.
Use only compost or heavy bark mulch to maintain soil moisture, or for erosion control.
Remove fire-hazardous plants and choose only fire-smart plants, and keep them healthy and well irrigated.
Provide spacing between shrubs, at least 2 times the height of the mature plant.
Add space on steeper slopes.
Trim trees to remove limbs 6’ to 10’ from the ground.
Remove branches that overhang your roof or within 10’ of chimneys.
Move firewood & lumber out of Zone 1, or cover in a fire-resistant enclosure.
Remove combustibles around and under decks and awnings.
Clear vegetation around fences, sheds, outdoor furniture, play structures.
Outbuildings and liquid propane storage tanks should have at least 10’ of clearance.
Maintain regularly, focusing on the areas closest to structures.

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Zone 2 extends from 50ft to at least 100ft. Fuels need to be reduced in this zone.

Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees.
Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees by removing so called ladder fuels.
Creation of shaded fuel breaks is a good strategy.
Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of 3 inches.
All exposed wood piles must have a minimum of 10 feet of clearance, down to bare mineral soil, in all directions.

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