Plant Wildfire-Resistant Landscaping
04/14/2023
Prep in and Around Your House | Strengthen Your Home • Wildfires
Why does it matter?
Your home is at heightened risk for wildfires if your landscape includes combustible vegetation and building materials. Grasses, yard debris, trees, shrubs, vegetation that burn easily, or features like wooden decks create a path for fire to reach your property and ignite your home. However, creating a defensible space through landscaping design can slow down or stop a wildfire by distancing your home from active wildfires' embers, flames, and radiant heat.
What do I need to know?
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Firewise program defines a Home Ignition Zone as an area extending up to 200 feet from a home. The goal for this area is to limit the amount of flammable vegetation and materials surrounding the house and to increase the moisture content of the remaining vegetation.
Where do I start?
Start planning your wildfire-resistant landscape by understanding your Home Ignition Zone and creating a defensible space with up to four subzones. Zone One is closest to your home; Zones Two to Four move further away.
Identify fire-resistant vegetation options with high water content. Some less flammable plants species include dogwood, viburnum, redbud, sycamore, magnolia, beautyberry, oak, red maple, wild azalea, sweetgum, coontie, winged elm, black cherry, persimmon, wild plum, sugarberry, Florida soapberry, fringe tree, ferns, wild olive, blue beech, hophornbeam, and sparkleberry. Consult your local extension service to identify the best wildfire-resistant tree and plan choices for your area.
Zone One – Your Home and the First Five Feet Around It
The latest Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety research suggests you designate Zone One to include your house and the first five feet around it. Follow these steps outlined by the NFPA.
- Clean roofs and gutters of dead leaves, debris, and pine needles that could catch embers.
- Replace or repair any loose or missing shingles or roof tiles to prevent ember penetration.
- Reduce embers that could pass through vents in the eaves by installing 1/8 inch metal mesh screening.
- Clean debris from exterior attic vents and install 1/8 inch metal mesh screening to reduce embers.
- Repair or replace damaged or loose window screens and any broken windows Screen or box-in areas below patios and decks with wire mesh to prevent debris and combustible materials from accumulating.
- Move any flammable material away from wall exteriors – mulch, flammable plants, leaves and needles, firewood piles – anything that can burn. Remove anything stored underneath decks or porches.
Zone Two – Five to 30' Away from Your Home
Follow these NFPA recommendations to create firebreaks and help interrupt fire movement toward your home.
- Clear vegetation from under large stationary propane tanks.
- Create fuel breaks with driveways, walkways/paths, patios, and decks.
- Keep lawns and native grasses mowed to a height of four inches.
- Remove ladder fuels (vegetation under trees) so a surface fire cannot reach the crowns. Prune trees up to six to ten feet from the ground; for shorter trees, do not exceed 1/3 of the overall tree height.
- Space trees to have a minimum of eighteen feet between crowns, with the distance increasing with the slope percentage.
- Place trees to ensure the mature canopy is no closer than ten feet to the edge of the structure.
- Limit trees and shrubs in this zone to small clusters of a few each to break up the continuity of the vegetation across the landscape.
Zone Three – Thirty to 100 Feet from Your Home, Up to 200 Feet
The following NFPA steps are not intended to eliminate fire but to interrupt the fire path, keep flames smaller, and prevent flames from leaving the ground and climbing so-called ladder fuels to ignite tree crowns.
- Dispose of heavy accumulations of ground litter/debris.
- Remove dead plant and tree material. Contact a professional or your local government extension office to evaluate or remove diseased trees, trees with mushrooms growing from the trunks, or trees with cracked trunks.
- Remove small conifers growing between mature trees.
- Remove vegetation adjacent to storage sheds or other outbuildings within this area.
- Ensure trees 30 to 60 feet from your home have at least 12 feet between canopy tops.
- Ensure trees 60 to 100 feet from your home have at least 6 feet between the canopy tops.
Note that the crown spacing needed to reduce or prevent crown fire potential may be significantly greater due to slope, tree species, or other location-specific conditions. Check with your local forestry professional to determine the right choices for your property.
Landscaping and Maintenance Reminders
- Maintain your irrigation system.
- Move your lawn regularly, and promptly dispose of cuttings and debris per local regulations.
- Keep any firewood at least 50 feet away from your house.
- Properly store and use flammable liquids away from the house.
- Refuel garden equipment carefully, and maintain equipment regularly.
- Discard smoking materials with care.
- Ensure all water sources (See Water Supply article), such as fire hydrants, ponds, swimming pools, and wells, are accessible to emergency personnel.
- Maintain a garden hose long enough to reach all areas of your house. Leave it connected for firefighters if you have to evacuate.
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