Fire Safe Community Preparedness Guidelines

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Harden Your Home - To keep your home safe from wild fires – focus on 3 main things - These steps form your first line of defense against wildfire:

-          Stopping flames from touching your home

-          Protecting it from heat

-          Block flying embers (High winds and hot fires can drift embers up to 5 miles)

Consider the following home hardening strategies for every area of your property:

Roofs  

• Material choice: The roof is the most vulnerable part of your home. Homes with wood or shingle roofs are at high risk of being destroyed during a wildfire. Opt for composite, metal, clay, or tile roofing to resist fires. 
• Ember sealing: Close off gaps under roof tiles and shingles to block wind-blown embers. 
• Debris removal: Regularly clear leaves, pine needles, and other debris from the roof to prevent ignition. 

Chimneys 

• Chimney screening: Cover your chimney and stove pipe outlets with a non-flammable screen. Use metal screen material with openings no smaller than 3/8-inch and no larger than 1/2-inch to prevent embers from escaping and igniting a fire.  
• Keep closed seasonally: Close the fireplace flue during wildfire season when the chimney is not being used. 

Vents  

• Mesh screening: Install 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch noncombustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh over vents to block embers. Avoid fiberglass or plastic meshes, which can melt. 
• Advanced venting: It is recommended to replace vents with California State Fire Marshal-approved flame and ember-resistant vents (State Fire Marshal Listed Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Products Handbook) for enhanced protection. 
• Be aware: These fire protection modifications may reduce airflow and ventilation to attics and underfloor spaces. Be sure to consult your local building official for ventilation requirements in your area before replacing or covering your vents and hire a licensed contractor to complete the project.

Windows  

• Dual-pane installation: Fit dual-paned windows with at least one tempered glass layer to withstand fire-induced breakage. 

• Size consideration: Limit the size and number of windows facing large vegetation areas to reduce radiant heat exposure. 
• Screen addition: Add screens to all operable windows to catch embers and reduce heat.  

Walls  

• Material selection: Avoid flammable siding. Preferred materials include stucco, fiber cement, or specially treated wood. 
• Full coverage: Ensure the selected materials extend from the foundation to the roofline for comprehensive protection. 

Decks  (Decks often are the first point of entry for a fire.)

• Fire-resistant materials: Construct decks from ignition-resistant building materials* like composite. 
• Under-deck clearing: Maintain an ember-resistant zone beneath decks by removing all flammable materials. 
• Slope consideration: For decks extending over slopes, establish a defensible space below to deter flame ascent. 

Patio covers  

• Matching materials: Use the same ignition-resistant materials on patio covers as those on your roof. 

Eaves and soffits  

• Construction: Box in eaves using ignition-resistant or noncombustible materials to prevent ember entry. 

Garages 

• Emergency tools: Store a fire extinguisher and basic firefighting tools within easy reach. 
• Power backup: Equip garage doors with battery backups to ensure functionality during power outages. 
• Ember seals: Apply weather stripping around and under the garage door to block ember entry. 

Fences  

• Material transition: Use noncombustible materials for the portion of the fence that connects to the house to prevent fire spread. 

Addresses  

• Clear marking: Your home’s address should be easily visible from the street for quick identification by emergency responders.

Driveways and access roads  

• Clearance maintenance: Keep a minimum of 10 feet of vegetation clearance on either side of driveways and access roads. 
• Emergency access: Ensure gates open inward and are wide enough for emergency vehicles, and keep overhead branches trimmed. 

Rain gutters  

• Regular cleaning: Keep gutters free from plant debris to prevent ember ignition. 
• Drip edge installation: Add a noncombustible metal drip edge to protect the roof’s edge from ember exposure. 
• Gutter guards: Use noncombustible gutter covers to keep out debris and reduce maintenance. 

Water supply  

• Hose availability: Install long garden hoses at your property that can reach all areas, including roofs and decks. MAKE SURE HOSES ARE NOT TANGLED.
• Supplementary water sources: Consider installing pumps for pools or wells to increase water availability during fires. 

Create your Wildfire Action Plan

Developing a well-thought-out Wild Fire Action Plan is crucial for every household. Tailor your plan to address specific family needs and situations, ensuring everyone is well-prepared ahead of a wildfire.

Your Wildfire Action Plan should include:

• Meeting point: A predetermined meeting location outside high-risk areas to determine who has evacuated from the affected area.
• Escape routes: Several escape routes, known to all in your household. Practice these often so everyone in your family knows where to go.
• Animal arrangements: Specific arrangements for pets and larger animals, like horses and other livestock.  Where are you going if you’re evacuated…?
• Communication plan: A family communication strategy names someone outside the area to be the main contact point for all family members if you get separated or have trouble with phone networks.

The 6 P’s of Evacuation

·         People & pets

·         Papers, phone numbers & important documents

·         Prescriptions, vitamins & eyeglasses

·         Pictures & irreplaceable memorabilia

·         Personal computer, hard drive & disks

·         “Plastic” (credit cards, ATM cards) & cash

Pre-Evacuation Plans

Learn utility controls. Make sure everyone in your household knows where your gas, electric, and water main shut-off controls are located and how to safely operate them in an emergency.

Prepare an Emergency Supply Kit for each family member, as recommended by the American Red Cross, containing essentials for immediate needs.

Store an extra Emergency Supply Kit in your vehicle to ensure access to essential supplies if you can’t reach your home due to a wildfire.

Maintain a list of emergency contacts, easily accessible both in your home and within your emergency supply kits.

Use a portable radio or scanner to stay informed about the current wildfire situation for timely decision-making during emergencies.

Initiative a Wild Fire Action Plan with your neighbors to promote community-wide wildfire preparedness.

Create Defensible Space – Keeping defensible space clear from flammable materials and vegetation is a key component to keeping your home safe from wildfires.

Zone 0 – The first five feet from your home is the most important. The majority of homes lost to wildfire are ignited by flying embers. Embers can travel miles (up to 5 miles) ahead of the active front of wildfires. 

What to do:

1. Use hardscape like gravel, pavers, or concrete. No combustible bark or mulch.
2. Remove all dead and dying plants, weeds, and debris (leaves, needles, etc.) from your roof, gutter, deck, porch, stairways, and under any areas of your home.
3. Remove all branches within 10 feet of any chimney or stovepipe outlet.
4. Limit combustible items (like outdoor furniture and planters) on top of decks.
5. Relocate firewood and lumber to Zone 2.
6. Replace combustible fencing, gates, and arbors attached to the home with noncombustible alternatives.
7. Consider relocating garbage and recycling containers outside this zone.

Consider relocating boats, RVs, vehicles, and other combustible items outside this zone.

Zone 1 – Keep it lean, clean and green within 30-50 feet of structures. Regularly clear dead or dry vegetation and create space between trees. During times of drought when watering is limited, pay special attention to clearing dead or dying material. Removing dead plants and creating space between trees and shrubs creates a buffer for your property and reduces potential fuel for fire.  

What to do:

1. Remove all dead plants, grass, and weeds.
2. Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles.
3. Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.

Create a separation between trees, shrubs, and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.

Zone 2 – Reduce potential fuel within 100 feet. 100 feet of defensible space is required by law. Public Resources Code (PRC) 4291.

What to do:

1. Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of four inches.
2. Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
3. Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
4. Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of three inches.
5. Keep 10 feet of clearance around exposed wood piles, down to bare mineral soil, in all directions.
6. Clear areas around outbuildings and propane tanks. Keep 10 feet of clearance to bare mineral soil and no flammable vegetation for an additional 10 feet around their exterior.

How to Space Trees and Shrubs

Vertical Spacing - Maintain space between the lowest tree branches and the ground or shrubs.

• Remove all tree branches at least six feet from the ground.
• Allow extra vertical space between shrubs and trees. Lack of vertical space can allow a fire to move from the ground to the brush to the treetops like a ladder. This leads to more intense fire closer to your home.
• Keep at least three times the height of any shrubs between the shrubs and the lowest branches of trees.
• Example: A 5-foot shrub is growing near a tree. 15 feet of clearance is needed between the top of the shrub and the lowest tree branch.

Horizontal Spacing - Horizontal space depends on the slope of the land and the height of the shrubs or trees. Leave more space between vegetation on bigger slopes.

Space between shrubs:

• Flat or mild slope (less than 20%): Two times the height of the shrub.
• Mild to moderate slope (20-40%): Four times the height of the shrub
• Moderate to steep slope (greater than 40%): Six times the height of the shrub

Space between trees:

• Flat or mild slope (less than 20%): 10 feet.
• Mild to moderate slope (20-40%): 20 feet.
• Moderate to steep slope (greater than 40%): 30 feet.

Tips for Clearing in Dry Condition

• Mow before 10 a.m. and never on a hot or windy day.
• String trimmers are safer than lawnmowers for clearing vegetation.
• When watering less during times of drought, be sure to remove all dead or dying vegetation.