The Aesthetics of Firescaping

By Samantha Gleissner


In my last blog I talked a bit about firescaping and the reasons people may decide against it, I brought up a few reasons why people should reconsider the benefits of firescaping verses what some consider to be negatives. Today I want to talk about the layout of firescaping and the different aspects that should be considered when trying to make your property safe as well as beautiful.

Firescaping, or the process of dividing your property into zones to create the best possible defensible area, involves removing fuels, and carefully selecting your landscape to provide the best protection to your home. There are a total of 3 zones and they are as follows:

Zone 1 is the nearest area to your home and anything near enough to serve as a fire path to your house. This zone should be the most void of fire fuels such as overhanging plants or brush that could act as facilitators for the fire to reach your home. Within this zone it is wisest to choose non-flammable landscape materials and be sure to clean up any fire fuels and debris such as leaf litter in your gutters, which should not be as much of an issue if there are no overhanging trees near your home. Consider decorating this area with fire-safe materials such as stone and concrete paths. This is not to say that you cannot have gardens or plants near your home, the key to keeping a garden and still being Firewise is to keep your plant beds watered. If you keep your planters and gardens well watered the moisture content of the plants will be greater making them less flammable and less likely to act as fuels in the event of a fire. Some common fuels that people may not really think about are door mats, patio furniture pads and pillows, and even hanging peat moss planters, always be sure to look around and consider which average household items could be potential fuels when creating this defensible zone.

Zone 2 is the next closest area to your home stretching from the edge of zone 1 to approximately 100 feet from your home. In this zone there should be well watered and maintained groups of vegetation such as ground cover, perennials and individual trees or shrubs with plenty of space between so that if fire reaches one area it can be contained and avoid spreading throughout the entire zone. Fire-safe materials such as rock or brick walls or concrete paths skirting the islands of vegetation and between zones to prevent fire spread should help protect sections of vegetation.

Finally zone 3 is the farthest zone from your house and should be anything 100 feet beyond your home. In this zone there should be native vegetation that has been thinned and if possible any dryer vegetation or materials should be removed. Zone 3 is the highest risk zone for fire and creating the most defensible space for your home means reducing plant density and fire fuels in this area and even replacing them with fire-safe options. You can find a list of fire-safe alternative plants, firescaping ideas and examples of firescaped homes HERE.

By firescaping your property into these defensible zones you can reduce your risk of home damage during wildfire season. You can make your home beautiful using all kinds of alternative landscaping methods such as stone gardens and paths, reduced brush and overhang means less work cleaning the gutters and raking leaves so you have more time to enjoy your home without the worry of fire dangers. Perhaps the best benefit of firescaping your property is that in the event of a wildfire, a well firescaped property or community can act as a fire break that prevents the wildfire from spreading past the home/community, which allows firefighters to focus on stopping the fire rather than protecting the structures in it’s path.

I hope that this information will help those who are considering firescaping to understand how it works a little more and those who haven’t considered firescaping to understand why they should. Stay Firewise!

http://www.idahofirewise.org/homeowners/firewise-landscaping/

Rethinking Firescaping

by Samantha Gleissner

Firescaping is a landscaping technique used to reduce fire risks to your home in the event of a wildfire. Firescaping is a method of arranging your property into zones, which are determined by distance from your home and level of risk from wildfire. Within each zone the landscape materials are selected to create the best possible defensible space, this means creating lowest risk spaces near your home by adding fire breaks such as rock or paths in each zone that are non-flammable and help obstruct and even prevent fire from reaching your home. By using firescaping you can minimize your losses and help firefighters do their job more easily by reducing the number of homes at high risk.  Although firescaping is highly beneficial to homeowners in wildfire area’s not everybody is keen to the idea of firescaping on their property. Here I will talk about some of the biggest reasons that people can be resistant to firescaping and I will explain why even if you have considered firescaping before and decided against it, it may be wise to reconsider your reasons and your fire risks.

A big reason people decide against firescaping is brush reduction, many people enjoy the beauty of nature in their backyard and have difficulty understanding how firescaping can still be beautiful when you are removing fuel sources like plants. While firescaping does mean reducing underbrush and plant litter around your home it does not necessarily mean you can’t take the opportunity to redesign your landscape for beauty as well as safety. It is important to reduce the amount of potential fire fuels and paths that wildfires can take to your home; think about using non-flammable landscaping materials like decorative rock and high moisture content yard plants which will be less likely to catch fire.

Another reason some might not want to do firescaping is the amount of maintenance work. Once you decide on firescaping you might think that when it’s done you won’t have to worry about it again. Truth is unless you maintain your firescaping it won’t be as effective in protecting your home, it’s vital to do maintenance on your firescape to keep brush and litter to a minimum and your fire safety to it’s maximum. You might think that it’s a lot of work to maintain your firescaping, but when it comes to protecting your family and home it is well worth the work. Plus by reducing the underbrush and leaf litter your yard and plants will look cleaner, grow better, and be easier to maintain in the long run.

Wildlife landscaping is becoming more popular and many people enjoy the idea of having a wildlife friendly yard. It may seem to many as if removing brush and undergrowth can discourage the appearance of wildlife that you want to see in your yard, but if done right firescaping can be wildlife friendly and can even make it easier to view the wildlife when it does pay you a visit. Not only can firescaping be wildlife friendly and beautiful, but it can help protect wildlife should a fire ever breakout by creating a buffer zone and making it easier for firefighters to focus on fighting the fire. By reducing the chances of the fire reaching your home it can allow firefighters to focus on stopping the spread of the fire rather than protecting home structures that are at high risk. Human safety is the priority, so by helping protect your own home with firescaping you can reduce the load for firefighters and help protect the forests and wildlife in your area.

Finally while many people are willing to consider Firewise landscaping, they may not know how to get started. While zoning laws and property regulations can be tricky, firescaping is an important safety step if you live anywhere that could be at risk of wildfires. Check into Firewise resources in your area and find out what Firewise can do to help you. If you are unsure how firescaping works clarification is only a click, call, or visit away. Firewise has all the resources you need to figure out your landscaping and can help you find service providers and Firewise landscapers in your area.

It’s important to realize that good Firewise landscaping can protect you, your home, your family, firefighters, wildlife and your peace of mind in the event of a wildfire. Take a look at your reasons for putting off firescaping and then take a look at Firewise resources and the benefits of having a Firewise home, it could be the best thing you do for your home!

http://www.firewise.org/~/media/Firewise/Files/Pdfs/Newsletters/FirewiseNewsletterSpring07.pdf