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Helen M. Davis Wildfires used to be something that we read about or saw on the news, something that happened far away and didn’t pertain to us directly. Oh, we may have had smoke settle over our area for a few days after it traveled on the wind from a distant fire, but that was about the extent. Not anymore, however. With rising temperatures and longer summers, wildfires are proliferating. The typical representation of a wildfire is a wall of flames barreling towards homes, but wildfires can also be spread via embers blown by the wind, which can travel as far as a half-mile ahead of a blaze, alighting on a roof, grass, or branches to create yet another conflagration. Once a wildfire has ignited, a homeowner can’t extinguish it but there are ways to do what is known as firescaping to make one’s yard more resistant to flames. By slowing a fire’s progress, the odds that your home and yard will survive are increased. Jeff Cope, owner of Home Grown Gardens just outside of Corvallis, has some experience in this. A native of Santa Barbara, California, Cope graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and has used this knowledge in his work managing parks for eighteen years before deciding it was time to focus on a long-time dream of starting his own nursery. Upon his retirement, Cope and his wife Donna first looked in Oakhurst (located in Madera County on the way to Yosemite) at a nursery that was for sale, but the price was far more than they could afford. Then, while online, Donna saw an ad for Home Grown Gardens, and they knew they’d found their dream. Home Grown Gardens has been a family enterprise since 2007 with Jeff acting as general manager and Donna working behind the scenes marketing, merchandising, and performing office administration. Son Opie is a co-owner and plant buyer who works in inventory management as well as a plethora of other jobs. Daughter-in-law Raquel manages the store’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, while granddaughters Kaylee and Kiana are frequent visitors. Jeff still possesses a keen interest in firescaping and is more than happy to share his knowledge with those who ask. This was gained by having been part of a fire safe council while in Santa Barbara and having worked at the Botanical Garden not to mention having been present during the Coyote Fire in 1964 and the Paint Fire in 1977. It is important he says, that “Pretend you are the fire. Clean out the undergrowth and leaf litter.” There are other things one can and should do. To begin, one should plan their yard’s landscaping by zone. Fires that are located more than 100 feet away are not as likely to ignite a home. However, material in that zone can ignite and spread to one’s home. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to manage that space to reduce the chance of fire. Within that 100-foot zone of ignition are three main locales that require different strategies in landscaping to reduce the risk of wildfire – next to the home or up to five feet away, 5-30 feet away, and 30-100 feet away or to the property line. Zone 0, also known as the ember-resistant zone, should have as few non-fireproof objects as possible. This means that one should remove anything flammable which includes trimming trees, removing wood-based mulch, leaves, pine needles, wooden flower boxes, firewood, propane tanks, picnic tables and combustible patio furniture. In place of mulch, one can use pea gravel which is frequently available in a number of colors that can complement one’s landscape. Stone pavers are another good choice for walkways. Gutters should be kept clean as dry leaves and pine needles make excellent kindling for stray embers and gutter guards can be a worthwhile investment. One should also be mindful not to plant trees or shrubs with woody stems too near the house and plants should be limited to those that are well-watered, and low risk “firewise.” For Zone 1 – 5 to 30 feet away, one should remove all dead plants, grass, twigs and branches. Grass near the house should be kept 4 inches or shorter and trees and shrubs should be trimmed so that branches end at least 10 feet away from other trees and buildings and branches should also be trimmed at least 6 to 10 feet from the ground. A telescoping pruner can be a tremendous help in this. Small trees should be moved away from large trees and vegetation, mulch, and fallen leaves or needles should be cleared at least three feet away from large tree trunks. Zone 2 – 30 to 100 feet away, can be slightly more relaxed than either Zone 0 or Zone 1, but not by a lot. Most experts recommend that dense stands of trees and brush be thinned. Flammable plants, which have waxy or oily leaves, twigs or stems, gummy or resinous sap, scented leaves, loose bark and the propensity for trapping dry or dead materials like twigs or needles should also be replaced. Evergreens are notorious for being flammable. The reason they smell so good at Christmas is because they are full of aromatic resins and oils that can catch fire and launch embers. They should be kept within 100 feet of a home and at least 15 feet from other structures and plants. Those plants that are fire-resistant have softer or succulent leaves and tend not to accumulate a lot of dead material and don’t have strong scents or sap. Some examples of this are Lavender, Ice plant, Agave, Creeping thyme, Delphinium, Day lily, Iris, Oriental poppy, and Lemonade berry. If trees and shrubs are preferred, oak, manzanita, cherry, maple, poplar, yucca, and dogwood are great choices. Plants to avoid due to their being fire-prone are pine, juniper, bamboo, rosemary, eucalyptus, cypress, and acacia. These plants look pretty, but they can be lethal if one lives in a zone that is fire prone. Summed up, it takes more than Smokey the Bear to prevent fires. It takes work in keeping one’s yard as defensible against flames as possible. It may not be fun, but when it comes to protecting life and limb, it is worth the effort. Nobody wants to see their home go up in flames. Nobody wants a lifetime of belongings – heirlooms, photos albums, jewelry, keepsakes to be turned into cinders. With a few changes to your yard your odds of being successful over a wildfire are increased and this should be reason enough to do your homework and know how to protect yourself and your home. Firescaping. It’s more than just a fancy word. Firescaping by Douglas Kent has more thorough information on Firescaping your landscaping. Comments are closed.
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