Create a Fire-Smart Yard

Use fire-resistant and drought-tolerant plants, materials, and designs to prevent the spread of fire to your home.

Defensible space is the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surrounds it. It is essential to improve your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. Defensible space requires establishing a healthy, well-maintained landscape with native plants and trees within your property and community zones.

What To Expect during your Defensible Space Inspection
Wednesday June 30, 2021
Busting Myths around Creating Defensible Space
Thursday April 22, 2021
Wildfire Defensible Space: Zone Zero
Thursday May 28, 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

Buildings ignite during wildfires as a result of one or more of these three basic wildfire exposures: embers, radiant heat, and direct flame contact.

“Firescaping” is landscape design that reduces house and property vulnerability to wildfire. The goal is to develop a landscape with thoughtful “hardscape” design, coupled with careful choice of plants that offer the best defensible space and enhance the property. The idea is to surround the house with things that are less likely to burn while being beautiful and easy to maintain. When building homes in wildfire-prone areas, fire safety must be the first major consideration in landscape design.

Fire-Smart Landscaping: Maintaining a Healthy Landscape Under Drought & Water Restrictions
Thursday July 1, 2021
Supporting biodiversity and pollinators in a fire-smart garden
Thursday May 28, 2020
Fire-Smart Landscaping – FIRESafe MARIN and UC Marin Master Gardeners
Wednesday May 6, 2020

Choose the Right Plants

Fire-smart planting is the cornerstone of a home’s defensible space. Remember that all plants will burn if poorly maintained. Choose preferred species, maintain plant and soil health, use species- and location-appropriate irrigation, and remove all dead material regularly.

Learn more about fire-smart and fire-hazardous plants

Use the Right Mulch

Mulch plays an important role in Western residential landscapes. Between organic mulch (e.g., pine needles, bark, shredded western cedar, shredded rubber) and inorganic mulch (e.g., rock, gravel, and brick chips), inorganic mulches tend not to burn and are safe to use in any setting.

Learn more about fire-resistant mulch

Use Non-Combustible Materials

Retaining walls can disrupt airflow, creating wind “eddies” that may help keep embers away from your house. Use masonry, gravel, or stone walls to separate plant groups and add variety and improve the fire resistance of your landscape.

Another way to break up fuel continuity is to use decorative rock, gravel and stepping stone pathways, cement driveways and walkways, and retaining walls as your landscape’s less flammable “hardscape.”

Replace bare, weedy, or unsightly patches near your home with ground cover, rock gardens, vegetable gardens, and fire-resistant mulches.

Learn more about fire-resistant mulch

Understand Plant & Tree Spacing

The spacing between grass, shrubs, and trees is crucial to reduce the spread of wildfires. The spacing needed is determined by the type and size of brush and trees and the slope of the land.

Learn more about spacing

Understand Topography

The topography around your home or business, which includes the slope of the land and the direction the structure faces, is a major consideration in assessing the risk of exposure to wildfire.

Embers, Direct Flame & Radiant Heat
Sunday December 20, 2020
Fuel, Weather & Topography
Sunday December 20, 2020

Resources