Summer is nearly here and for most Californians that means it’s time to gear up for fire season. With increasing drought-like conditions and higher temperatures, the necessity of being prepared has become a common reality, even if you don’t live out in the country or on land.
Preparing for fire season includes more than just maintaining your property. In this 3 part series, we’ll review key aspects of what you can do to best prepare and protect your land, your home and yourself.
- Part 1: Preparing your Land
- Part 2: Preparing Your Home
- Part 3: Preparing Yourself
Part 1: Preparing your land
First and foremost, it’s important to prepare your property for fire season and maintain it year round, whether you live on a small lot or 10 acres. To do this, you will need to create a defensible space; a buffer zone between your home or other buildings and grass, trees, bushes, etc. that surround it. The idea is that by maintaining a defensible space, you will help to slow or even stop the spread of wildfire from approaching your home.
Both Placer County and Nevada County follow the state guidelines of requiring a 100′ defensible space to be maintained around all structures on a property. The corresponding abatement ordinances and resources can be found below.
Placer County Resources
Nevada County Resources
The Cal-Fire website, www.ReadyForWildFire.org, does a great job of defining and visually explaining the requirements for creating a defensible space. If you are not already familiar with this resource, I highly recommend reviewing their site. The information and images below are taken from their website.
Defensible Space Zones
Zones 1 and 2 currently make up the 100 feet of defensible space required by law. Assembly Bill 3074, passed into law in 2020, requires a third zone for defensible space. This law requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop the regulation for a new ember-resistant zone (Zone 0) within 0 to 5 feet of the home by January 1, 2023. The intensity of wildfire fuel management varies within the 100-foot perimeter of the home, with more intense fuels’ reduction occurring closer to your home. Start at the home and work your way out to 100 feet or to your property line, whichever is closer.
Zone 0 – Ember-Resistant Zone
Zone 0 extends 5 feet from buildings, structures, decks, etc.
The ember-resistant zone is currently not required by law, but science has proven it to be the most important of all the defensible space zones. This zone includes the area under and around all attached decks, and requires the most stringent wildfire fuel reduction. The ember-resistant zone is designed to keep fire or embers from igniting materials that can spread the fire to your home. The following provides guidance for this zone, which may change based on the regulation developed by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
- Use hardscape like gravel, pavers, concrete and other noncombustible mulch materials. No combustible bark or mulch
- Remove all dead and dying weeds, grass, plants, shrubs, trees, branches and vegetative debris (leaves, needles, cones, bark, etc.); Check your roofs, gutters, decks, porches, stairways, etc.
- Remove all branches within 10 feet of any chimney or stovepipe outlet
- Limit plants in this area to low growing, non-woody, properly watered and maintained plants
- Limit combustible items (outdoor furniture, planters, etc.) on top of decks
- Relocate firewood and lumber to Zone 2
- Replace combustible fencing, gates, and arbors attach to the home with noncombustible alternatives
- Consider relocating garbage and recycling containers outside this zone
- Consider relocating boats, RVs, vehicles and other combustible items outside this zone
Zone 1 – Lean, Clean and Green Zone
Zone 1 extends 30 feet from buildings, structures, decks, etc. or to your property line, whichever is closer.
- Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).
- Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.
- Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.
- Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
- Relocate wood piles to Zone 2.
- Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
- Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks, balconies and stairs.
- Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.
Zone 2 – Reduce Fuel Zone
Zone 2 extends from 30 feet to 100 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc. or to your property line, whichever is closer.
- Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
- Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
- Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
- 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.
Zone 1 and 2
- “Outbuildings” and Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) storage tanks shall have 10 feet of clearance to bare mineral soil and no flammable vegetation for an additional 10 feet around their exterior.
Local Ordinance
Many local government agencies have local ordinances for defensible space or weed abatement. These local ordinances will often be more stringent than the State’s minimum requirements listed above (e.g., San Diego County requires 50 feet of clearance in Zone 1). Check with your local fire department or fire protection district for any additional defensible space or weed abatement ordinance requirements.
Plant and Tree Spacing
The spacing between grass, shrubs, and trees is crucial to reduce the spread of wildfires. The spacing needed is determined by the type and size of brush and trees, as well as the slope of the land. For example, a property on a steep slope with larger vegetation requires greater spacing between trees and shrubs than a level property that has small, sparse vegetation.
Vertical Spacing
Remove all tree branches at least 6 feet from the ground.
Allow extra vertical space between shrubs and trees. Lack of vertical space can allow a fire to move from the ground to the brush to the treetops like a ladder. This leads to more intense fire closer to your home.
To determine the proper vertical spacing between shrubs and the lowest branches of trees, use the formula below.
Example: A five-foot shrub is growing near a tree. 3×5 = 15 feet of clearance needed between the top of the shrub and the lowest tree branch.
Horizontal Spacing
Horizontal spacing depends on the slope of the land and the height of the shrubs or trees. Check the chart below to determine spacing distance.
Be sure to check back next week for Part 2 in the Preparing for Fire Season Series: Preparing your Home!
