Wildfire awareness: What is defensible space?

It’s getting hot out there, and dry conditions and higher winds bring increased wildfire risk. The best way to protect our properties and communities is through coordinated effort. This article will provide practical tips everyone can implement to be ready for wildfire season.

Does your home have defensible space?

The area between an oncoming fire and a structure is called defensible space.

During a wildfire, embers can be carried miles by wind and convective forces. Excessive vegetation around a property and open vents in eaves and roofs are high-risk ignition points. By mitigating these hazards, we can proactively support fire management by reducing combustible fuels around our homes. It’s a good idea to maintain the defensible space around your home at least once a year in the spring. Here’s a checklist:

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• Thin and prune trees and shrubs. Dispose of clippings and cut branches.
• Mow grass to a low height. Remove weeds.
• Clear roof and gutters of leaves, pine needles and other debris.
• Remove branches overhanging roof and chimney.
• Ensure chimney screens are in place and in good condition.
• Install screens in attic, roof, eaves and foundation vents.
• Inspect fire extinguishers to verify they are in good working condition.
• Ensure house number is posted and clearly visible.
• Family fire drills and evacuation plan are current and well-practiced.

Clear the Immediate Zone

For the area immediately around your home, think lean and clean. Ideally, the area within 5 feet of a home should be free of shrubs and grass. Using inorganic mulch like decomposed granite will provide an effective buffer zone to harden your home.

In the Sonoran Desert, invasive grasses and weeds like buffelgrass and stinket provide highly flammable wildfire fuels. Removing these weeds is a constant battle that should be done all year. Stinknet, a weed with carrot-like leaves and yellow spherical flowers, is increasing in Arizona. If you see it, pull it, bag it, report it at stinknet.org, then throw it away.

Native plants and grasses are desert-adapted and produce few leaves to fuel wildfires. These Extension publications can help you decide what to plant:

• Choosing the Right Plants
• Arizona Climate Zones and their Application to Growing Plants
• Plants for Pollinators in the Low Desert of Arizona

The home itself is a fuel source, too.

Replacing flammable materials and plugging up roof openings to eliminate ignition points is called home hardening. Installing screens on vents will help arrest embers so they do not enter attics and crawl spaces. Extension recommends installing noncorrosive 1/8-inch wire mesh. See our home hardening presentation on YouTube.

Working as a community

Improving community fire resilience is a process and requires a lot of work and sustained effort. Working together with neighbors and local resources like Cooperative Extension can help lighten the load. For more resources on how you can manage wildfire risk around your home, visit our Pima County Wildfire Mitigation Program web page.

Also consult:

• Living with Wildfire: Homeowners’ Firewise Guide for Arizona
• Stinknet Identification and Reporting
• Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert: A Detailed Guide on Low-Water-Use Plants from AMWUA