For Release April 9, 2006

Protecting Your Home from Wildfire

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

Wildfires have always been part of the natural landscape. Here in the Flint Hills, the single most defining force in the tall grass prairie over the millenniums has been periodic fires. As we build more and more rural residences and expand our cities into what was recently native prairie, we have a responsibility to take fire prevention into our own hands and find ways to reduce the risk of wild fire to our home and property. While rural fire departments and even city fire departments are looked upon as the principle source of fire protection, we still need to take that first step of being less vulnerable to a wildfire.

The phrase that is commonly used in fire protection is defensible space zones. Those are zones that start next to your house and expand outwards. Within these zones we take steps to make it difficult for a fire to get started or easier to fight if one comes closer. I think we've all seen the video images of a wall of flame 30 feet tall racing towards and engulfing houses. To be very honest, there is no way to easily stop a wall of flame like that. So you create a situation where a wall of flames doesn't come roaring up to within inches of your home.

In Defensible Zone 1 you are looking at the 30 or so feet closest to your house. You keep only a few scattered trees within Zone 1, and you certainly don't have a nice big planting of evergreen trees next to your house. If you've never watched a juniper, pine or spruce tree catch fire on a warm, dry spring day, you have no idea of their flammability. Because of the high rosin content of all parts of these plants, they literally explode into flames. A torch is the one single word to best describe them. Evergreen shrubs near the building are okay, but I honestly wouldn't have a lot of them. Deciduous shrubs are slower to catch fire and burn, even under dry conditions.

If you are building a new house in a rural area you should not even consider a wood roof. Sure, wooden shingles are treated with a fire retardant when they are new, but this quickly wears off and there's no way to really fire proof wood. Then be sure to keep your roof clear of leaves, needles and other debris. If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, make sure that you regularly have the chimney cleaned and have a spark arrester installed. You should also keep 100 feet of garden hose with a nozzle on the outside of the house. Quick action with a garden hose can keep a small fire small and keep it from getting out of hand.

Once you move from Zone 1 to Zone 2, which is basically from 30 feet out to 100 or 125 feet, you are still looking at not having high fuel loads. You keep grass mowed down to a normal three or so inches in height. It's much easier to fight fire in three inch tall grass compared to three foot tall grass! If you have evergreen trees in this zone, keep them pruned up at least a few feet off the ground and keep them thinned out. If you have an evergreen windbreak, make sure it is more than 100 feet away from your home.

If you use wood to heat your home, don't keep it stacked next to the house. Make sure that woodpiles are at least 30 feet away from the house and fuel tanks. Keep driveways accessible for fire trucks including a turn around area. Keep fire tools available in a garage or outdoor shed. This would include shovels, rakes and ladders. And finally, consider volunteering for the rural fire department. Geary County has a good rural fire department, but they could always use more able bodied volunteers!

-30-

Return to Agri-Views Home Page

Return to Ag Home Page