After the Palisades and Eaton fires in L.A., photos circulated of homes standing amid wreckage. Such a sight isn’t uncommon after wildfires — similar images emerged after the Hawaii wildfires in Lahaina, the Carr fire in Redding, and even the Almeda fire here in the Rogue Valley.
These lone untouched homes may seem like miracles, but there’s often more to the story. The way a home is built and landscaped — from roofing materials to garden plants — plays an important role in whether it does or doesn’t burn. By hardening your home against fire, you can prevent flames from reaching your home, and even help protect your neighbors. Here’s where to start.
Create a buffer zone
To minimize the chances that fire reaches your home, start by getting all flammable materials away from “zone zero” — what fire experts call the five feet immediately around your home. Those include natural-fiber doormats as well as containers for garbage, yard debris, and recycling. Move stacks of firewood at least 30 feet from the house, or as far away as possible (keeping in mind proximity to neighbors).
You’ll also need to reimagine the landscaping in this part of your yard — remove plants growing beneath the eaves of your home, including those in planters and climbing on trellises. Prune back overhanging branches. Woody mulch, too, is highly flammable and should be removed.
Unsure what to do with this area of your property? Try pebbles, stones, or a paved walkway. Low-growing, non-woody plants with high moisture content, like small succulents, moss, alyssum, and ajuga are also fine.
Maintain your yard
Between 5-30 feet of your house, you’ll have more flexibility in terms of landscaping. Still, it’s important to maintain a “lean” yard, with lots of space between garden beds, shrubs, and trees. That minimizes the risk of a small fire leaping to the home if an ember were to land in your yard and catch fire. For a flat property, the city of Ashland recommends spacing trees 10 feet apart. For shrubs, give a buffer zone roughly twice as wide as the height of the plant. If you live on a moderate or steep slope, you’ll need to double or even triple those distances.
Carefully choose your plants. Those that develop a lot of dead, woody material as they grow — like rosemary and lavender — are more flammable, as are plants that contain a lot of waxes, sap, terpenes, and oils. (A strong scent or gummy texture when leaves are crushed indicates the presence of those materials.)
More important than the type of plant, however, is keeping your garden well-tended. Right before and during fire season, prune back woody and dead debris, clean up dry leaves and needles, and keep grass mowed to under four inches.
Consider fire-resistant fencing
During fires, wooden fences act like fuses. One study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that fencing, in combination with wooden mulch, was one of the main culprits in spreading fire during the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California. Fences made from flammable materials are particularly problematic when they attach or come close to homes.
The safest option is to totally replace wooden fencing with a non-flammable option, like wire, metal roofing material, and masonry. (For ideas, check out this helpful guide by a Volunteer Wildfire Risk Assessor for Ashland Fire & Rescue.) If that’s not viable, you can replace sections that come within five feet of your home — for example, by replacing a wooden gate with a metal one.
Metal roofing can replace sections of a wood fence.
Fireproof your home construction
There are three different ways that a fire spreads:
- by coming into direct contact with a structure,
- by creating radiant heat that causes nearby structures to ignite spontaneously,
- by spreading embers.
If you have the option, strategic construction can protect your home from each of these risks.
Direct contact: Fire-resistant roof and siding materials can help a home withstand flames, even in the case of direct contact. For new construction or when replacing the roof on an older home, consider asphalt, tile, or slate shingles. Metal roofing is another good option. The important point is that no matter what you use, make sure it has a Class A fire rating.
Radiant heat: Radiant heat can cause windows to shatter, leading flames to enter the interior of the house — but that’s much less likely with tempered glass or double-paned windows. Tempered glass is the safest option.
Embers: Installing wire (metal) mesh with less than 1/8” openings on exterior vents is an easy and inexpensive way to prevent free-floating embers from entering a home.
Adapting to wildfire is an essential part of creating a resilient Ashland.
By making small changes, it’s possible to minimize the risk that these events pose to our communities — protecting our homes and our neighbors. For more ideas and information, visit the Fire Adaptated Ashland.
