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Is Your Home Firewise?
Much of what is known about protecting homes from wildland
fire is based upon the work of Jack Cohen, a Fire Research
Scientist at the U.S. Forest Service Fire Lab in Missoula,
Montana. Jack has been studying wildfires for almost 30
years. His research and field investigations support some
interesting explanations for home losses associated with
wildland/urban interface fires. Cohen has found that most
willdland/urban interface homes are lost because of ignitions
associated with the two most vulnerable parts of a home:
- the roof
- the area immediately
surrounding the structure
Cohen's research results indicate that home ignitions usually
occur over relatively short distances---tens of yards, not
hundreds of feet from little things associated with either:
- Fire brands landing on and around the structure,
or
- Flames from slow-moving, low-intensity
surface fires contacting flammable portions of the structure.
This means that the homeowner can play a significant role
in reducing home losses from wildfires by reducing fuels
and through careful landscaping in what Cohen calls the "home ignition zone', an area that extends outward from
the home 100 - 200 feet in all directions. Research has
shown that the home ignition zone principally determines
the potential for home ignitions during severe wildfires.
Case studies indicate that the most critical area is a
zone of "defensible space" within 30 feet of the structure.
Maintaining a lean, clean and green* landscape within 30
feet of a structure can make a significant difference in
whether it survives a wildfire. The important thing is that
action must be taken before wildfire threatens.
* |
Lean- small amounts of flamable vegetation
Clean- no accumulations of dead vegetation
Green- plants are healthy and green; lawn is well irrigated |
Reducing fuel within the defensible space means creating
a landscape that breaks up the continuity of brush and other
vegetation that could bring wildfire in contact with any
flammable portion of the structure.
This may involve:
• eliminating any flammable vegetation in contact
with the structure
• thinning out trees and
shrubs so there is 10 to15 feet between the tree crowns
• pruning tree limbs to a height of 6 to10
feet
• replacing highly-flammable landscape
material with plant materials having a higher water content
• replacing flammable mulch adjacent the structure
with gravel or rock • eliminating "ladder fuels" near
the structure that might carry a surface fire to the roof
or eaves.
Fire is a natural part of our Florida ecosystems. It is
not a matter of if we are going to have wildfires, but when
will we have wildfires and at what intensity. Homeowners
must assume a major role in wildfire protection by taking
action to reduce the ignitability of their homes before
the threat of a wildfire. |
