Brick, metal and stone are more fire resistant than wood

One California wildfire is threatening over 12,000 homes. Other wildfires across the nation are threatening many thousands more homes not to mention the lives of animals and humans living in the wildfire areas. Most of these fires are caused by natural events such as lightening strikes but several of the fires are being blamed on arson.

Whatever the cause of a wildfire, you can protect your home against it with some simple common sense precautions.

When building a new home, follow these easy preventions.

Choose fire resistant materials along with protective roofing. Use as much brick, metal and stone as you can as those materials are much more fire resistant than wood.

Cover all vents coming out of attics and eaves with metal mesh screens. The screen mesh should be no larger than six millimeters or 1/4th inch to stop debris from collecting in the vents and to keep sparks out.

Install fireproof shutters, multi-pane windows or tempered safety glass to protect large windows from radiant heat.

Insulate chimneys and place spark arresters on top. Chimneys should be at least 3 feet above the roof. Have chimneys, home heating systems and wood stoves inspected annually by a certified specialist to prevent home fires in general. Use fire-resistant draperies for added window protection.

If your home is already built, you can protect it from wildfires with some judicious landscaping changes.

Plan a defensible space by clearing flammable vegetation and other materials around your house and other structures a minimum of 30 feet and up to 200 feet depending on local topography. Houses surrounded by dense vegetation need clearance of 100 feet while those on slopes and hillsides need clearance of 200 feet. Establish and maintain a defensive zone of well-watered, low-growing, fire-resistant plants, like lawns and succulent groundcovers, around your home and other structures.

Incorporate rock, brick, concrete pathways and patios, and gravel walkways for additional protection. You should mulch bare soil in the defensive zone with 2-3 inches of fir or redwood bark chips.

Remove dead and dried plant material and debris, like leaf litter, twigs, tall grass, fallen or dead branches, and thatch build up of groundcovers and succulents to keep the landscape clear of fuel.  Also thin or remove crowded woody plants to create 10-20 feet of space between shrubs and 20-40 feet between trees. And prune branches that are near or overhang the roof. Remove lower tree branches to 10-15 feet of the ground and maintain a vegetation-free zone beneath the tree's drip line.

Well-watered trees spaced in a staggered manner away from the house can act as a barrier to intercept and prevent wind-driven burning material from reaching the home. Water-stressed plants burn readily. Water landscape plants adequately. Water heavily once a month during late summer and fall, even to drought-tolerant plants, to reduce plants potential to burn. Install a sprinkler system to make watering faster, easier, and more effective.

And when choosing plants for your outdoor areas, select fire-resistant plants. Most conifers and many species of Eucalyptus and Acacia are quite flammable. Species with shedding bark and heavy leaf litter are particularly hazardous. Plants with relatively fire-resistant foliage include deciduous trees and shrubs, plants with large, fleshy leaves, and plants lacking volatile chemicals, oils, waxes, etc.

While you cannot prevent wildfires, you can protect your home from them.