As you are all aware, this is already shaping up to be a bad wildfire season. Here are some suggestions to help limit the risk to your home:
- Create a defensible space by removing all dry grass, brush, dead leaves, and dead or downed trees at least 30 feet from your home. If you live on a hill or slope, this distance will need to be substantially increased.
- Remove any dead branches hanging over your roof and all branches within 10 feet of your chimney. Your roof is the most vulnerable part of your house; build or reroof with fire resistant materials.
- Enclose the underside of balconies and above ground decks with fire-resistant materials.
- For trees taller than 18 feet, prune lower branches within six feet of the ground to keep fires from spreading to treetops. Experience has revealed that a minimum distance of 100 to 150 feet around your home needs to be defensible, with comprehensive landscaping, including moist, trim low plants, turf or groundcover.