Defensible Space

Comply with the law and help save your home by creating defensible space.

FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES:

Create a Lean, Clean and Green Zone
Remove all flammable vegetation and any dead or dying plants within 100 feet of each building or structure. You may keep single trees or other vegetation that are trimmed of all dead and dying foliage and are well pruned and maintained.
Decrease Fuel in the Reduced Fuel Zone
Surface litter consists of fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark cones, pods, small branches, etc. Remove loose surface litter so it does not exceed a depth of three inches.
Make if Safe: Logs, Stumps and Snags
All logs and stumps should be removed unless they are embedded in the soil. If you keep an embedded log, remove nearby vegetation.
A standing dead tree (snag) may be kept for wildlife providing there is only one snag per acre, and if the snag were to fall, it would not reach buildings or structures and would not land on roadways or driveways.
Provide Fuel Separation and Treatment
Guidelines for fuel treatment as published by the CDF (California Department of Forestry) aka CALFIRE, are designed to reduce the spread of wildfires.
  • The best options for your property will be based on its characteristics (slope, vegetation size, vegetation type-brush, grass, trees, and other fuel characteristics). For example, a property on a steep slope with larger vegetation will require greater spacing between trees and shrubs than a level property that has small, sparse vegetation.
  • Grasses: Ideally grass should not exceed four inches in height. In situations where these fuels are isolated from other fuels or where necessary to stabilize soil, grasses, and forbs may reach a height of 18 inches
  • Shrubs and Trees: Uncleared ground fuels provide an open freeway for the rapid spread and increased intensity of fire. Clearance between shrubs should be 4 to 40 feet depending on the slope of the land and size and type of vegetation. Low branches create "ladders" from the ground fuels to the trees.
Defensible Space with Continuous Tree Canopy
To achieve Defensible Space with Continuous Tree while keeping a larger stand of trees with a continuous tree canopy, adhere to these guidelines.
  • Prune lower branches of trees to a height of six to 15 feet from the top of the vegetation below (or the lower 1/3 of branches for small trees) Properties with greater fire potential such as steeper slopes or more severe fire danger will require pruning heights in the upper end of this range.
  • Remove all ground fuels greater than four inches in height. Single specimens of trees or other vegetation may be kept if they are well space, well pruned and crate an overall condition that avoids the spread of fire to other vegetation or to structures.
When creating defensible space, keep these safety tips in mind:
  • All equipment with an internal combustion engine must be equipped with an approved and operable spark arrestor.
  • Metal blades striking rocks can create sparks and start fires. Use caution.
  • To protect water quality and habitat do not remove vegetation associated with water, avoid using heavy equipment near waterways and do not clear vegetation near waterway to the bare mineral soil. Keep soil disturbance to a minimum.

For further information on Defensible Space
Contact Garden Valley Fire Protection District
Or Amador-Eldorado Unit Headquarters CALFIRE 530.644.2345