‘Defensible spaces’ landscaping can make it easier, safer for firefighters

YAKIMA – When Charles Ashbaugh was landscaping his former home in Terrace Heights, he wasn’t thinking about wildfire danger.

He and his wife just didn’t want to deal with weeds.

“Instead of just letting weeds grow, we put in gravel and grass,” said Ashbaugh, who’s taken similar steps with the Selah Heights home where he now lives.

Firefighters say Ashbaugh’s landscaping style makes it easier for them to protect a house from a wildfire by keeping flammable weeds and bushes away.

While “defensible spaces” are not required under state or local building or fire codes, officials in several Yakima County fire districts want residents to create such spaces around homes that abut areas prone to wildland fires.

“You will reap what you sow,” said Brian Vogel, who until recently was chief of Yakima County Fire District 5. The district, like others, rates defensible spaces around homes, which helps firefighters decide where to make stands against wildland fires.

In recent wildfires in Terrace Heights and Rattlesnake Ridge, fire officials demonstrated the need for defensible space.

The concept was developed in the 1990s by Jack Cohen, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. His research looked at how homes ignite due to radiant heat from nearby fires.

That research led to recommendations to clear potentially combustible plants and materials away from homes. Aside from protecting the house itself, it also creates space that allows firefighters to mount a better defense if a wildfire does start.

A defensible space is described as a 100-foot buffer divided into two zones between a house and wildland.

The zone closest to the house extends out 30 feet, and officials recommend keeping flammable plants, weeds and materials, such as firewood, away from the house.

“What we want is a green patch,” said East Valley Fire Lt. Trevor Lenseigne, noting that firefighters aren’t looking for barren gravel. A well-watered and maintained lawn is sufficient, he said.

In the second zone, which extends 70 feet, homeowners need to keep grass mowed to about 4 inches, which ensures that any flames that do catch will not be tall. They also recommend trimming low-hanging tree branches to about 6 feet off the ground, as well as spacing the trees far enough apart to keep fire from spreading through the tree tops.

Vogel said people who have wood shake roofs should also make sure their gutters are clean to prevent burning embers from igniting the material and catching the roof on fire.

Fire officials rate homes in wildfire-prone areas for how well their space is defended. Lenseigne said Ashbaugh’s Bohoskey Drive home was deemed a low risk for fire danger because of his efforts.

In the event of a wildfire, Lenseigne and Vogel said, firefighters will deploy to those homes first, rather than those that lack the space. It’s a move they say is meant to best use limited firefighting resources as well as protect firefighters.