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Creating defensible space, hardening your house, and doing the necessary pre-fire planning and maintenance are all things within a homeowner's control. These factors will play a far more important role in your home’s survival than what firefighters can do once the fire is here. By educating yourself and preparing your property BEFORE the wildfire, you become your home’s most important defender.
We tend to think of our homes bursting into flame from the heat of a fire, but in our area it is far more likely that something very small and seemingly insignificant — an ember — will be the cause of ignition. Most structure loss in wildland fires is caused by embers and fire brands falling on flammable material on or near structures, which then ignite the structure itself. Much of this loss is preventable.
Embers can leap ahead of the main fire front by as much as five miles. They can be as small as grains of rice. They might come en masse as ember storms, or just a few stray embers may blow in. They will ignite anything they touch that's combustible. That's why defensible space, plus hardening your place to withstand embers, can make the difference between a home that survives and a home that burns.
Regularly clean dried leaf/needle debris off your roof and out of your gutters — this is a critical point of vulnerability. Gutters especially can be tinder traps that invite stray embers to flare up. During fire season, a monthly clean-up is ideal. (Be careful on ladders; make sure someone else knows you're up there and/or carry your mobile phone. If, like so many of our residents, you're getting a bit older, considering hiring someone for this job.)
Next, inspect the 30’ radius out from your house, and move all combustible items within this circle. This can be a big job, so start with the exterior walls and work your way out. It's especially important to tend to the space extending five feet out from your home: "zone zero." There should be no overgrown woody or thatched plants, no bark or straw mulch, no wooden planters, no flowerboxes under windows, no wooden patio furniture, no firewood, no propane tanks, and of course no dried weeds or dead plants here. Think like an ember: if something will burn, move or eliminate it. (Noncombustibles, like ceramics, stone, shells, and metal, are fine.)
Resisting wind-blown embers is the key to any structure surviving a wildfire. Study the resources at "Defensible Space" and "Home Hardening," below, for much more information.
It's the law: California Public Resource Code 4291 demands a 100’ defensible space radius. It's also critically important to your safety: homes with 100’ of defensible space are far more likely to survive a fire than those without. Equally importantly, in recent years too many wildland firefighters have died trying to protect homes with inadequate defensible space. Inadequate defensible space is reason enough for firefighters to choose not to attempt to defend your home in a wildfire. Having 100’ of defensible space clearance will:
Defensible space does not mean moonscape; it does not require clearcutting and concrete.
It simply means that you have limbed up trees, eliminated the “ladder fuels” that allow fire to climb from the ground up into the tree tops, removed dead plant materials, and separated trees and shrubs so that fire can’t jump from one to another, straight to your home.
Defensible space can be beautifully landscaped with shade trees, carefully chosen and well-watered plantings, interesting rocks, brickwork, ceramics, metalwork, and/or small ponds. Fire safety and comfortable outdoor space are not mutually exclusive.
Here are some of our favorite resources:
Download Fire Safe Sonoma's two booklets, "Creating Wildfire Adapted Homes and Landscapes” and “Living with Fire in Sonoma County,” at www.firesafesonoma.org for excellent information.
University of Nevada, Reno, sponsors the Living With Fire program, which has a wealth of latest research on adapting to life in an extreme fire zone (yes, some of it is just for Nevada, but most of it is extremely relevant to our area). See their publications for the Ember Awareness Checklist and a clear guide to defensible space. Gardeners will be especially interested in UNR's downloadable mulch recommendations.
Fire Safe Marin is a great source for smart planting (see their excellent firewise plant list), as well as emergency planning.
CalFire's "Defensible Space Guide" gives specific guidelines with clear illustrations.
Fire-smart retrofitting can go a long way to help structures resist and survive ember storms and wildfire ignition. What does home hardening entail?
Special ember-resistant vents or 1/8" wire covering are a must-have to keep embers out of your attic and crawl spaces. These are relatively easy to install and not too expensive.
If you have a wooden fence or gate that abuts your house, replace at least the first five feet of it with metal.
Close off crawl spaces under houses and decks with noncombustible material (don't forget proper venting).
More extensive fixes begin with a class-A roof (asphalt or metal) with fire-resistant underlayment. Special soffit covers protect your eaves from flames. Siding made of fiber-cement makes for a safer exterior when you're retrofitting. (Wood or vinyl siding should be avoided.) For new construction, also consider exterior walls made of stucco, insulated concrete forms, or even strawbale covered with thick adobe plaster. Single-pane windows, skylights, and glass doors should be replaced with double- or triple-paned glazing, with tempered outer glass. Consider fire shutters (you can make your own or buy steel roll-down models). Replace wooden steps with concrete steps. Consider the option of replacing wood decks with noncombustible patios.
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, www.disastersafety.org/wildfire, is one of the best information sources on how to harden structures. This site includes numerous research-based publications.
Fully hardening your home can take awhile and be expensive, but every small step taken will help. Prioritize by your abilities and budget — and take into account what it would take to replace your home if it burned. Note also that home hardening and good defensible space will lower your insurance costs (or, in many cases, allow you to get insurance in the first place).
If you're on the grid, your power is likely to go out in a wildfire. Know how to open your garage door manually when necessary. As of July, 2019, California law requires all garage door openers to have battery backup. If your door is older, consider upgrading it. If you have that battery, maintain it.
Many wildland fires start as structure fires that spread into trees and brush. Keep your family, your property, and your neighborhood safe by taking care of basic fire safety tasks.
Every year, homeowners doing the right thing at the wrong time cause many of Sonoma County’s wildland fires. Mow around living areas, yes, but never use lawn mowers, weed eaters, or chainsaws during the heat of the day. During dry season, please don't use mowers with metal blades; striking a rock will cause a spark (this is how the 1978 Creighton Ridge Fire started). Make sure all gas-powered tools have spark arresters. Use extreme care when refueling gas tools and keep a fire extinguisher in your tool bucket.
Install smoke detectors on every level of your home, and check the batteries now, and when daylight savings time begins and ends. In the U.S., on average, 3500 people per year die in structure fires, 75% of them in homes without a working smoke detector.
Have fire extinguishers readily available in your home, and make sure family members know how to use them. Check extinguishers to confirm they have a full charge. (Local companies such as this one will recharge for you.)
Inspect chimneys and stovepipes at least twice a year, and make sure they are equipped with spark arresters. Wait until the first really wet days of autumn before lighting up your stove. Do not dump ashes from stoves, fireplaces, or barbecues outside if there is the remotest chance that there could be hot embers lingering, even if it is cool and damp on the day you dump them. Embers can stay hot in ash for a very long time, igniting fires several days after ashes have been deposited.
During the dry season be very careful with barbecues. Make sure charcoal BBQs are in very clear areas, never leave them hot, and if it is a hot, dry, or windy day, please cook some other way.
Be relentless in reminding others—especially kids, workers, and visitors who may not understand life in an extremely fire prone area—about fire risks posed by cigarettes, parking in high grass, refueling gas tools, etc. Don't be afraid to be "rude" if it might prevent a fire.
Can the VFD access your water source? If you are unsure, or planning to upgrade or create a new water system, call us. Ideally you should have:
Keep at least 2,500 gallons of water in reserve at all times for firefighter use; more is better. Have a hydrant available near the house, and mark it with a blue reflector. (By the way, please use blue reflectors only for water sources that can be tapped in a fire, not for decoration.)
Equip your tank or hydrant with at least a 2-1/2” valve with male National Standard Fire Thread, located within 15' of a place where a fire truck can park.
Bury all of your water lines. Even one foot of exposed, burned line will shut off your water supply.
If we can't find you, we can't help you. That's sometimes an issue out here in the Cazadero/Fort Ross hills. Metal address signs with reflective numbers help emergency responders find your house quickly.
Cazadero Supply (downtown Caz, 632-5257) makes metal signs for $18. Best: numbers on both sides so it’s visible in either direction; sign installed on metal post. If you have multiple homes accessed on one driveway, please post all the addresses at the bottom of the driveway, in addition to posting at each home.