You may recently have seen headlines about the wildfires that hit Stillwater, Oklahoma, last week, destroying 70 homes. Or maybe, not; it’s not uncommon to read about devastating wildfire losses anymore. Unfortunately, in our changing climate, such disasters are becoming increasingly frequent. The Stillwater fires hit particularly close to my heart being my hometown: my brother’s house was threatened, and he evacuated to my place. We spent an uncomfortable night together wondering whether or not he and my sister-in-law would have a house to return to in the morning. Thankfully, his house survived, but we both started thinking about doing more serious firescaping around our respective homes.

When I moved into my current house, the first thing I did was cut down all the cedar trees within 30 feet of my house. (Cedars tend to explode in fires. As a former firefighter, we used to call them “gasoline on a stick.”) But truly, there is much more I could, and definitely should, do. While I do not live in California or the desert West where we often think of such fires being common, it’s clear that any region experiencing drought and the right weather conditions can suffer from these devastating fires. So here is Firescaping 101, an introduction to a topic many of us may not think about in other parts of the country.

What is Firescaping?

Firescaping is a landscaping strategy that incorporates practices that protect your house (or structures) from fire. By selecting fire-resistant plants, creating defensible spaces, hardscaping, and using other strategic landscaping techniques, you can minimize the likelihood that a wildfire will destroy your home.

Creating Defensible Zones

It’s useful to think of your landscape in terms of defensible zones. Where can you afford to have some things burning versus where do you REALLY, REALLY not want to have any fire? Generally speaking, you don’t want anything burning up close and personal to your house, so it’s best to keep that space free of plants and materials that will burn well and/or hot. As you progress outward, you can start adding more plants (potential fire fuel), while incorporating strategies to keep those areas from threatening your house if they do ignite.  Artificial intelligence fed me some distances for the following zones, but many reputable sources don’t include distances at all. This is just an example that could be used:

1. Zone 1 (0-5 feet from structures): Keep this area free of combustibles. You don’t want anything burning in this area that could ignite your wooden deck or vinyl siding, or send burning ambers onto your roof. Use non-flammable materials like gravel, stone, or hardscaping. Avoid planting highly flammable shrubs or trees. (Get rid of your cedars!)
2. Zone 2 (5-30 feet from structures): Space plants strategically to break up fire pathways; you don’t want a line of flowerbeds leading straight to your deck, for example. It’s fine to have island beds with gravel walkways in between. Keep shrubs low-growing and trees well-pruned.
3. Zone 3 (30+ feet from structures): Maintain natural areas but remove excess dead vegetation to reduce fuel loads.

Choosing Fire-Resistant Plants

When I think of fire-resistant plants, I immediately think of succulents. But if you’ve ever tried to burn green wood or leaves, you know that these, too, resist fire, at least to a point. In terms of fire load, shorter plants spaced further apart support less fire than thicker concentrations of taller plants. So, you want plants that have high moisture content, and you want them spread a bit apart. Shorter is better. Here are some examples:

• Succulents (such as sedums and agaves) store water and are naturally fire-resistant.
• Deciduous trees (like oaks and maples) have higher moisture content than resinous evergreens.
• Herbaceous perennials (such as yarrow, columbine, and penstemon) offer nectar sources while resisting ignition.

Hardscaping

Hardscaping is a pretty simple concept. Rock, brick, ceramic tiles, and concrete don’t burn. A rock wall can stop a fire in its tracks. So can a concrete sidewalk. A path with river rock will stop a creeping fire; a path covered in woodchips will not.

If you’re afraid of fire – and we all should in today’s world – take a look at your landscape. Try to imagine what would happen if a raging fire threatened your property. In what direction(s) do your prevailing winds typically blow? (Those winds will be blowing the fire.) What path would the fire take? How can you break that path up? Will it leap from tree to tree? Will removing the trees closest to your house protect it?

One last word: Many house fires start from wind-blown embers landing on roofs. Metal, non-flammable, or tile roofs will help prevent that. If you have wooden shingles, fireproof them or replace them. It just needs to be done.