With wildfires being an increasing concern amongst Coloradans, here is an easy guide from the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) to help protect your home as much as possible. Wildfires are a natural part of Colorado’s forests, and if you live in the wildland-urban interface (where homes intermingle with wildland vegetation) you are at risk of being affected by a wildfire. While firefighters always do their best to reduce fire damage, ultimately, it is your responsibility to protect your property from wildfire.
DISCLAIMER: Taking practical steps to prepare your home does not guarantee it will survive a wildfire, but it does improve the odds. Any fire mitigation completed may also allow firefighters who might be present to more safely engage with the fire and structure protection. If the site conditions are unsafe, firefighters will not stay on the scene longer than what is safe.
The CSFS provides the following diagram to depict to the different ignition zones of your property. They suggest to “always start with the home or structure and work outwards.” Fire mitigation an ongoing process that is needed to give your home the best chance of surviving a wildfire.
There are two main factors that determine a home’s ability to survive a wildfire: the structure’s ignitability and the quality of the home’s defensible space. To reduce wildfire hazards to your property, minimize or eliminate nearby fuel.
Structural Ignitability
Structural ignitability is the likelihood the materials in/on your home will ignite during a wildfire. Ideally, home ignition risk is address when the structure is in the design phase, however, there are steps that can reduce the ignitability of an existing home.
Below are check lists provided from the CSFS that are listed on their website : https://csfs.colostate.edu. These checklists are for Coloradan property owners who wish to take steps toward mitigating their property from wildfires.
- Ensure the roof has a Class A fire rating
- Remove all leaves, needles and other debris from decks, roofs and gutters
- Screen attic, roof, eaves and foundation vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Screen or wall-in stilt foundations and decks with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Use tempered glass for windows; two or more panes are recommended
- Create 6 inches of vertical clearance between the ground and home siding
- Replace combustible fencing or gates, at least within 5 feet of the home
Checklists to Prepare Your Home for Wildfire
Top Priorities for Structural Ignitability
- Ensure the roof has a Class A fire rating
- Remove all leaves, needles and other debris from all decks, roofs and gutters
- Screen attic, roof, eaves, and foundation vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Screen or wall-in stilt foundations and decks with 1/8-inch metal mesh
- Use tempered glass for windows; two or more panes are recommended
- Create 6 inches of vertical clearance between the ground and home siding
- Replace combustible fencing or gates, at least within 5 feet of the home
Top Priorities for Defensible Space
- Mow grass and weeds to a height of 4 inches or less.*
- Rake and remove all pine needles and other flammable debris from a 5-foot radius around the foundation of your home and deck.*
- Treat or mow shrubs that re-sprout aggressively (such as Gambel oak) every 3-5 years or more depending on growth rates.
- Remove branches that hang over the roof and chimney.
- Dispose of slash from thinning trees and shrubs by chipping, hauling to a disposal site or piling in open areas for burning later. Any accumulation of slash that’s chipped or otherwise should be isolated 30 feet or more from the home.*
- Avoid creating continuous areas of wood chips on the ground when chipping logs and/or slash. Break up the layer of wood chips by adding nonflammable material or allow for wide gaps of at least 3 feet between chip accumulations.
*Address as needed, more than once a year.
Firewood
- Keep firewood stacked uphill from (or at the same elevation as) any structures and keep the woodpile at least 30 feet away from the home.
- Do not stack firewood between remaining trees, underneath the deck, or on the deck.
- Remove flammable vegetation within 10 feet of woodpiles.
Propane Tanks
- Keep aboveground tanks at least 30 feet from the home, preferably on the same elevation as the house.
- Remove flammable vegetation within 10 feet of all propane tanks and gas meters.
Driveways
- Maintain at least 10 feet between tree crowns and keep trees a minimum of 30 feet back from each side of the driveway along the entire distance from the house to the main access road.
- Remove any remaining ladder fuels beneath trees after thinning.
- Remove any shrubs that are within 10 feet of the outer edge of tree crowns.
- Space shrubs apart at least two-and-a-half times their mature height, as measured from the edge of the shrubs.
- Post signs at the end of the driveway with your house number that are noncombustible, reflective, and easily visible to emergency responders.
Solutions for Managing Slash
Properly thinning and pruning trees/shrubs as you address your home is important. Slash are the sticks and debris left from cutting trees. Slash is a fuel for wildfire, therefore, it must be properly managed and located as far as possible from the property.
- Spread slash and wood chips over a large area of ground to avoid heavy accumulations and large piles. Being close to the ground will help speed decomposition.
- Burn slash piles, but before doing so, always contact your county sheriff’s office or local fire department for current information or possible restrictions.
- Lop and scatter slash by cutting it into small pieces (generally less than 24 inches long) and distributing it over a wide patch of ground, to a depth not exceeding 18 inches. Material over 4 inches in diameter should not be scattered.
If you would like more information on how to mitigate your property from wildfires in Colorado, please go to https://csfs.colostate.edu/