What do we know about wildfire?
Wildfire is an unwanted, and uncontrollable fire spreading in a forest, grassland, brushland or cropland.
Why fighting wildfire matters?
Nearly 90 large wildfires continue to burn through more than 4.7 million acres on the western coast. At least 35 people have died since wildfires started this month (9/2020).
According to USDA’s data, more than 73,000 wildfires burn an average of about 7 million acres of private, state, and federal land in the US each year.
Is wildfire manageable? Here are few tactics to protect your property from escalating flames.
Design two zones of defensible spaces (30 feet and 100 feet) around the buildings, structures, or decks.
Spacing plants around your buildings.
Remove all tree branches at least 6 feet from the ground.
Choose fire resisting plants.
More Sustainable SITES credits.
+++ Document that your project is in a fire-prone zone. Design, build and maintain the landscape and structures according to the techniques listed in the “Firewise Landscaping Checklist” will help your project gain 4 points under SITES- soil + vegetation credit.
By the way…
There are several wildfire predictive service such as National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho or 10 other geographic coordination centers (NICC) around the United States. Learn more on how to “Responding to Wildfires“.
For more details on how to maintain defensible space from Ready for Fire.
For advance preparedness for property owners, check out Firewise Landscaping checklist
North American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook from U.S. Department of Agriculture
Learn more about Prescribed Fire as management tool to mitigate wildfire hazard from U.S. Department of Agriculture and “Fuels Management and Forest Health” from U.S.Department of Interior.
Background music: Prokofiev Symphony No.3 in C minor, Opera “The Fiery Angel“
Photo via The New York Times.