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Home > Forest Protection > Wildland Urban Interface > Steps to Protect Your Home > No cost, just a little time

Steps to Protect Your Home from Wildfire

Things you can do to help protect your home from wildfire:
No cost, just a little time
  • Move your firewood pile out of your home’s defensible space.
  • Perform a FIREWISE assessment of your home.
  • Clean your roof and gutters of leaves and pine needles (best done in October).
  • Clear the view of your house number so it can be easily seen from the street.
  • Put a hose (at least 100’ long) on a rack and attach it to an outside faucet.
  • Trim all tree branches that overhang your house.

Trim all overhanging branches.

  • Trim all tree branches from within 20’ of all chimneys.
  • Remove trees along the driveway to make it 12’ wide.
  • Prune branches over hang ing the driveway to have 14’ overhead clearance.
  • Maintain a green lawn for 30’ around your home.
  • If new homes are still being built in your area, talk to the developer and local zoning officials about building standards.
  • Plan and discuss an escape plan with your family. Have a practice drill. Include your pets.
  • Get involved with your community’s disaster mitigation plans.
  • Check your fire extinguishers. Are they still charged? Are they easy to get to in an emergency? Does everyone in the family know where they are and how to use them?
  • Clear dead wood and dense flammable vegetation from your home’s defensible space.

Pine rows need to be thinned.

  • Remove conifer shrubs from your home’s defensible space especially if your home is in a high-risk area.
  • Review your homeowner’s insurance policy for adequate coverage. Consult your insurance agent about costs of re build ing and repairs in your area.
  • Talk to your children about not starting fires or playing with matches.
  • If you have a burn barrel that you use for burning trash, STOP!
  • Compost leaves in the fall, don’t burn them. Always follow local burning regulations.
  • Always have a shovel on hand and hook up the garden hose BEFORE you start the fire.
  • Never burn if the smoke and flames are blowing towards your home (or your neighbor’s home).