Landscaping Holds The Key To Home Safety

Unfortunately, wildfire and its devastation are again in the news. In light of the recent tragic fire in Spokane and our continued hot, dry conditions, I thought I might review some precautions and guidelines for homeowners in forested and grassy areas.

Wildfire is fueled by fallen and/or dead plant material, droughtstricken plants, plant debris and trash. Once ignited, it quickly spreads via driving summer winds. It is powerful and frightening, and sometimes we find our homes directly in its path.

Since 1991, the Department of Natural Resources has been studying ways of protecting our homes from wildfires. They have devised a landscape consisting of four concentric circles, called zones, that surround the home. The zones are designed to balance native plants with garden plants, control erosion and limit water use. The goal is to create a landscape that will slow the flames before they reach the house.

How the zone system is applied may depend upon where your home is located. The zones described here are formulated for level ground with at least 150 feet extending from the house in all directions. If the home were to sit on a hillside or at the bottom of a canyon, 30 extra feet should be added to the width of each zone. Flames shoot higher and move faster up hills and canyons than they do on level ground. Adding the same 30 feet to each zone would also apply if the home sits in a wind belt.

Zone 1 extends 30 feet from the house. It contains the typical plants of the landscape, including lawn. The ornamental plants we choose should be plants that tend to burn slowly. The leaves of these particular type of plants usually hold high quantities of water, little oil, and produce small amounts of litter. They help to protect the house from windblown sparks and flames. Here are a few examples:

Groundcovers: creeping red fescue, gazania (an annual), sea pinks and ginger.

Perennials: daylilies, red-hot poker, yarrow, onion, pearly everlasting, brodiaea, California poppy, heuchera, lupine and goldenrod.

Shrubs: artemisia, barberry, red-osier dogwood, currant and yucca.

Trees: oak, box elder, maple, alder, incense cedar, quaking aspen, cottonwood, willow, buckthorn, elderberry and redbud.

Zone 2 consists of the next 70 feet out from zone 1. It is designated as a zone for low-growing ground covers that will prevent ground fires from reaching zone 1. Examples of such plants may be ivy geranium (annual flower), all sedum species, creeping sage, ginger and wild strawberry. A few shrubs like mock orange and yucca can be used for interest.

Zone 3 starts 100 feet from the home. It is 50 feet wide and is the buffer and transition zone between the more succulent plant growth of zones 1 and 2, and the native plants in zone 4. Here we look for deep-rooted and drought-tolerant plant material. Drought-tolerant plants still require some moisture to keep the plants healthy. Water deeply at least once a month. This area also needs to be maintained once or twice a year by removing all dead material and keeping bushes thinned out. Sound maintenance practices will not only keep plants from becoming potential fuel for fires, but it will also keep the area looking handsome. Examples of drought-tolerant plants are artemisia, barberry, red-osier dogwood, lupin, penstemon, currant, yucca, serviceberry, caragana, cotoneaster and sumac.

Zone 4 is 150 feet from the house and beyond. As you may have suspected, it contains the native plant population - trees and underbrush. Here it’s imperative that we begin thinning out excess growth. Start by taking the less vigorous plants, leaving behind only the strong, older fellows. It would be ideal if trees could be spaced about 20 feet apart. Creating such space not only makes for a healthier forest (less competition for nutrients and water), but it also keeps fire from moving as quickly. Instead of having mass underbrush, begin creating islands of healthy, thinned-out brush. Again, leave about 20 feet or more between islands. Sparse, low-growing plants provide little fuel for wildfires, while dense, uninterrupted stands of brush and trees provide potential torches.

If you live on a slope, be careful not to remove all the natural grass and vegetation. Bare soil on a bank or hillside can easily erode. Instead allow native grasses to develop. In late spring before the fire season, mow the grass down to a couple of inches and rake up the cut debris. The stubble and the roots of the grasses and weeds will help maintain the bank.

If you live in a treed area, but don’t have 150 feet to work with, what can you do? Work with your neighbors to analyze and clean up the area. If necessary, bring in a forester to help you. Thin out weak and straggly trees in your yard as well as the nearby forest, trying to maintain 20 feet between trees. Limb remaining trees up at least 10 feet. This will help keep ground fires on the ground. Create islands of underbrush. Have regular neighborhood raking parties, where dead and dying underbrush is thinned and raked up. Remove the debris from the site. “Clean green” can be dumped free at the transfer stations so long as it is soil-free and branches are no wider that 3 inches in diameter.

Around the home, plant deciduous trees (hardwoods) as opposed to the softwood conifers. Hardwood has more moisture content than softwood, thus burns more slowly. Mulch with gravel or small rocks rather than with bark. Create firebreaks with wide sidewalks and circular drives. Keep pine needles off the roof and out of the rain gutters.

With more and more homes being built in remote areas and housing developments being constructed in heavily treed areas, learning to protect our homes against wildfire is imperative. Contact the Department of Natural Resources for more information; (800) 527-3305 and then press 0.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review