The Los Angeles fire is likened to a Category 4 hurricane, where even the most thorough preparation may not guarantee a home’s safety. “However, we often encounter more ‘Category 1 fires,’ which can be survived with proper readiness,” he explained.
What are defensible spaces? The idea of defensible space was first devised in California to denote an area where firefighters could effectively protect a residence from a wildfire. Jessamyn Hise, the community outreach manager at Fire Safe Marin—a nonprofit in Marin County, Northern California—explained that this concept has evolved into methods and tools that enable a home to defend itself.
This concept is no longer limited to California alone; it now applies to many regions across the country. States like Oregon, New Mexico, and Colorado have either enacted legislation or allocated funds to assist homeowners in fortifying their properties against fires. Incidents in Hawaii, New York, and Tennessee have proven that wildfires are not exclusive to the Western states.
Essentially, defensible space revolves around a few key elements designed to prevent flying embers from igniting flammable materials that could lead to a house fire. The most critical step involves clearing all flammable items within a five-foot radius of the home and any outbuildings, as well as ensuring that embers cannot enter through roof or crawlspace vents.
There is substantial evidence that these measures are effective. During the Oak fire in Mariposa County, California, homes that adhered to defensible space guidelines were six times more likely to survive, according to the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force.
“When rebuilding Pacific Palisades, we can reconstruct it in a way that maintains its beauty, preserves its charm, and makes it resilient to future wildfires,” remarked Todd Lando, a Battalion Chief wildfire specialist at the Central Marin Fire Department in Marin County, California.
Lando emphasized the importance of helping individuals comprehend the modifications that can safeguard their homes without significant inconvenience. In some cases, this entails protecting homeowners from regulations that could increase their wildfire risk.
“Colorado, for instance, modified its legislation regarding homeowners associations,” he explained. “HOAs are now prohibited from enforcing rules that may worsen wildfire risks, such as requiring wooden fences or decks or allowing only certain types of vegetation or wood mulch in yards.”
Here are some essential ways to safeguard homes in wildfire-prone areas:
– Establishing defensible space around the property to shield it from wildfires and embers, using materials like gravel and brick fences.
– Recognizing embers as a primary threat, as they are a common cause of ignition, particularly during wildfire ember storms.
– Creating a five-foot perimeter around the house, known as Zone Zero, is crucial for establishing defensible space to protect the property against wildfires.
“It has been found that the majority of home ignitions, ranging between 60% and 90%, occur within five feet of the home,” Lando stated. The key is to eliminate anything that could easily catch fire if an ember landed on it. “You want any potential fire to fizzle out,” Wright emphasized. “That’s why the area closest to your house within five feet should be completely non-combustible.”
“The objective is to establish a home that is less susceptible to ignition,” Hise explained. When working with homeowners, she focuses on the following critical areas:
– Removing trees near the home’s roofline.
– Regularly checking for dry leaves or pine needles accumulation, such as at the base of the house or in gutters. Installing gutter covers can help prevent leaf build-up.
– Clearing fallen branches and limbs.
– Ensuring wooden fences do not come into contact with the house. “In the Palisades fire, we observed that even though homes were distanced apart, fires spread through the fence lines,” Hise noted. Instead, the last five feet of a fence should be made of metal.
– Discarding flammable doormats, brooms on the porch, and combustible outdoor furniture within five feet of the house. “It’s astonishing how easily they can catch fire, acting like kindling,” Lando warned.
– Verifying that the bottom six inches of the home’s walls are constructed from brick, concrete, or other non-flammable materials.
– Managing ladder fuels.
Beyond the five-foot zone, it is acceptable to have trees as long as they are well-maintained, Lando suggested. “They offer shade and help retain moisture in the soil.” However, trees and tall plants should be separated, especially if they are easily flammable species like juniper, Italian cypress, and bamboo, according to Hise. Maintain the ground below them free of leaf litter, branches, and other debris that could ignite and spread to the tree’s canopy.
“Limbing up trees to about a third of the way off the ground is advised to prevent ground fires from reaching the canopy,” Lando added. Healthy trees are beneficial when appropriately positioned, Wright mentioned. “There is no need to clear-cut the area, but ensure trees and their canopies are at least five to ten feet away from the house.”
Fire experts divide the area surrounding a home into concentric circles. Zone 0 is the closest, followed by Zone 1, which extends five to 30 feet from the house. This area should be maintained as “lean, clean, and green,” Lando advised. Lawns are acceptable, but incorporating hardscape pathways made of gravel or brick can assist in reducing fire spread.
Additionally, clear combustibles and vegetation around fences, sheds, outdoor furniture, and play structures. Liquid propane storage tanks should have a minimum of 10 feet of clearance.
Zone 2 spans from 30 to 100
“The responsibility lies with the homeowners,” stated Lando. A vast majority of households in modern times are equipped with garage door openers. In the event of a fire, power outages may render these openers inoperative, necessitating manual operation of the garage door. Tragically, during emergency evacuations, individuals may not have the luxury of time to exit their vehicles and manually close the garage door, opting instead to leave it open as they make their escape. Compounding this issue is the fact that not everyone is physically capable of manually lifting a garage door.
Lando recounted distressing accounts of elderly individuals who tragically lost their lives as they were unable to open their garage doors. Despite California often facing criticism for its stringent regulations, Lando has witnessed firsthand the benefits of a law implemented in 2019 mandating that all automatic garage doors be equipped with battery backups. “This regulation has been instrumental in saving both lives and properties,” affirmed Lando.
The importance of having defensible space around one’s property to enhance its resilience against the threat of fires cannot be overstated. By creating a buffer zone of cleared vegetation and implementing safety measures such as ember-resistant vents and fire-retardant materials, homeowners can significantly improve their chances of safeguarding their homes during wildfire incidents.
This article was originally featured in USA TODAY and sheds light on the vital role that proactive measures such as installing battery backups in garage doors play in mitigating the risks posed by wildfires.
