FireWise Landscaping: Strategies for Protecting Your Home Against Wildland Fires

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FireWise Landscaping Strategies for Protecting
Your Home Against Wildland Fires

• Frank Reilly,
• Environmental Scientist and Master GardenerLand
  Care, Tree, and Water Quality Steward

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Overview

• The Wildland/Urban Interface
• Wildfire in Virginia
• Fire Behavior
• Firewise Landscaping
• Home Preparations
• Defensible Space
• The Zone Concept
• Firewise Examples
• Fire Resistant Plants

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Wildland Urban Interface
The urbanization of wildland areas, bringing
together a blend of people and nature.
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1/29/1955 Hull Street RT 288
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2/18/1965 Hull Street / RT 288
Swift Creek
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6/12/1972, Hull Street / RT 288
Swift Creek
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2/7/1988, Hull Street RT 288
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1994, Hull Street RT 288
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2007
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Wildland/Urban Interface

• If a tree fell in the woods..
• Fire Safety is more important when homes are
  involved
• People are inexperienced with rural life.

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Interface vs. Intermix

• NFPA 299, Standard for Protection of Life and
  Property from Wildfire, 1991 edition, defined
  wildland/ urban interface as "an area where
  development and wildland fuels meet at a
  well-defined boundary. Meanwhile another term,
  wildland/urban intermix, served to differentiate
  a more specific type of area.

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Interface vs. Intermix
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Why are woodland homes at risk?
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More stuff to burn!
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What is risk?
Voluntary risks are those associated with
activities that we decide to undertake (e.g.,
driving a car, riding a motorcycle, smoking
cigarettes).
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American
Language (1979, Simon Schuster, New York, NY)
defines risk as the chance of injury, damage, or
loss. Therefore, to put oneself "at risk" means
to participate either voluntarily or
involuntarily in an activity or activities that
could lead to injury, damage, or loss.
Involuntary risks are those associated with
activities that happen to us without our prior
consent or knowledge. Acts of nature such as
being struck by lightning, fires, floods,
tornados, etc., and exposure to environmental
contaminants are examples of involuntary risks.
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The 4Rs
1st R
RISK
2nd R
RESPONSIBILITY
3rd R
REWARDS
RESPECT
4th R
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Risk Mitigation

• Seat Belts
• Insurance
• Disaster Preparedness
• Fire Preparedness
• Fire Prevention
• Fire Survival/Damage minimization

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9 out of 10 Wildfires are caused by human
negligence. Therefore 9 out of 10 can be
prevented. However there is that 1 in 10 that we
need to be concerned about!
If you live in or near woodlands If you have a
business in or near woodlands If you play in
or near woodlands
YOU ARE AT RISK !
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A wildfire risk ? Hey this is VIRGINIA
not California !

• Many of you and more importantly many of your
  clients are unaware that wildfire poses a threat
  to their forestland, their homes and themselves.

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THE WILDLANDFIRE PROBLEM
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Wildfire In Virginia

• 1200 wildfires per year
• 10-12,000 acres burned per year
• Most wildfires in Virginia are kept small due to
  rapid response by fire departments and department
  of forestry

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Where there are people, there is fire!

• 95 of all wildfires are started by people
• Top fire causes in Virginia
• Escaped debris burning
• Arson
• Equipment Use
• Smoking

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Wildfires Cause Property Damage

• In 2004, For every 10.1 acres that burned, a
  home or other structure has been damaged

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Virginias Woodland Homes
Estimate based on some preliminary assessment
work in 2003
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Virginia Statistics
Now one structure (home, garage, barn etc) is
threatened for every 6 acres burned.
Year Number
2000 178
2001 121
2002 50
2003 22
2004 56
2005 27
2006 62
2007 44
2008 66
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The Cost in Virginia

• 2008
• 16 homes damaged or destroyed
• 50 other structures damaged
• 1,325 fires
• 25,709 acres burned
• 1.5 million structure
• 13.25 million timber
• 873,500.00 suppression costs

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odel\For\Powerpoint
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Forest Fragmentation
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Over the last 5 years Virginia lost 257 homes
and/or other structures to wildfires.
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322
Aspen Fire
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1,021,037,913.00
Value of homes "protected" 1998-2008
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How a firefighter sees a woodland home
Defendable
Non-defendable
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Fire Behavior

• Virginia Fires are less dramatic

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Fire Needs

• Oxygen
• Fuel
• Heat/Source of Ignition

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Fuel

• Light fuels include grasses, shrubs, and tree
  leaves or needles
• Heavy fuels, such as large tree branches, downed
  logs, and buildings
• Ladder fuels, such as shrubs or small trees of
  intermediate height
• Fuel breaks are areas lacking vegetation or other
  fuels that stop or impede the horizontal movement
  of an advancing fire. Fuel breaks can be natural,
  such as rivers or streams, or artificial, such as
  roads or plowed agricultural fields.

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Types of Fires
Ground Surface Crown
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Surface Fire
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Crown Fire
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A typical large wildfire in Virginia, started by
careless debris burning.
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Afton Mountain Fire and a Firewise Home!
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How do woodland homes ignite?
Directly... by the fire
itself
Indirectly... by fire brands
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Understanding Fire Behavior

• Conduction

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Sparks, some landing on the roof and adjacent
vegetation, some falling harmlessly to the ground
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4 Rs

• RISK
• RESPONSIBILITY
• REWARDS
• RESPECT

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Fire Safety for Woodland homes

• Vegetation
• Structure
• Location

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Prepare Your Home

• Site planning
• Neighborhood preparedness
• Fire resistant materials
• Good maintenance
• Help firefighters

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Site Planning

• Remember fire behavior
• Fire Trucks are big
• Water doesnt flow uphill
• Firewood burns
• Propane tanks REALLY burn

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Poor road and driveway access.
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Neighborhood Preparedness

• Wooden street signs burn
• So do wooden poles
• Fire hydrants reduce your insurance bill
• Vacant lots are NOT a good idea for yard debris

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Fire Resistant Materials

• Metal or cement siding vs. wood or vinyl
• Metal roofs vs. cedar shakes
• Fire-proof mulch
• Decks in defensible space
• Fences

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Fire Resistant Design
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Good Maintenance

• Is your home worth 8 hours per year of yard work?
• Keep the gutters clean
• Debris off of the roof
• Yardwaste stewardship

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Help Firefighters

• Easy directions
• Good signs
• Wide turnarounds
• Know where the water is
• Go means GO!

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What Is Firewise Landscaping?

• Creates or changes the vegetation around a
  woodland home
• To improve fire protection and
• Prepare your property or
• Community in the event of a wildfire

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Firewise Landscaping

• The concepts
• 30-100 feet wide safety zone
• Minimize the amount of fuel reduce reuse
  recycle!
• Eliminate the opportunity for flames to come in
  direct contact with homes or other structures
• Prevent plant-to-plant spread of fire
• Use fire-resistant mulches and ground covers
• Use fire resistant plants

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Defensible Space

• Should be at least 30 wide ? 100 on steep
  slopes
• Minimizes fuel between house and surrounding
  forest
• Provides a safe area for firefighters to work
• Can help a house to stand alone and survive an
  approaching wildfire if firefighters do not
  arrive in time

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The Zone Concept

• Zone 1 ? 5-10 from the house
• Prevent direct flame contact
• Zone 2 ? 10-30 from the house
• Stop fire spread
• Zone 3 ? 30-100 from the house
• Slow down or stop fire
• Zone 4 ? the surrounding area
• Minimize the intensity of an approaching fire

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1
4
2
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Gardening in the "ZONE"
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Home Ignition Zone
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Defensible Space
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Firewise Landscaping

• Good design
• Proper maintenance
• Right Plant Right Place

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Selecting and Maintaining Firewise Plants for
Landscaping
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Introduction

• Selecting landscape plants based on their
  flammability can be challenging.
• Few existing plant guides list firewise plants or
  rank plants by their flammability.
• Firewise Virginia publication is available.
• However, by considering several key plant
  characteristics we can make an informed decision
  about which plants to select.

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What Plant Parts Fuel The Fire?

• Plants (vegetation) are the primary fuel during
  wildfires, both living and dead plant material
  will burn.
• When comparing the flammability of different
  plants, one should first consider the leaves and
  small branches.
• The most important characteristics of light fuels
  that influence their flammability are

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The Amount Of Water In The Leaf, Or Its Moisture
Content.
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The Size And Shape Of Leaves.
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The presence of oils, resins (tree sap), waxes,
or other chemicals in leaves or branches.
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Whole-Plant Flammability

• The overall flammability of a plant is dependent
  on the relative flammability of its leaves and
  branches, and how they are arranged.
• Shrubs and trees differ in their flammability
  based on several characteristics.

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Branching Patterns
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Deciduous vs. Evergreen
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Retention of dead leaves and branches.
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Planting the right plant in the right place.
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Plant Arrangement Within The Landscaped Area
And Beyond.

• Similar to individual plants, the flammability of
  groups of landscaped plants is influenced
  significantly by their vertical and horizontal
  arrangement.
• To discuss how plant arrangement influences the
  overall flammability, it is useful to first
  discuss general differences between broad
  categories of plants.

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Grasses
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Shrubs
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Trees
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Vertical And Horizontal Separation.
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Routine Maintenance Is Essential !

• Maintain vertical and horizontal separation.
• Prune trees and shrubs periodically.
• Remove dead leaves and branches.
• Remove dead annual plants.
• Water plants adequately.

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4 Rs

• RISK
• RESPONSIBILITY
• REWARDS
• RESPECT

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4 Rs

• RISK
• RESPONSIBILITY
• REWARDS
• RESPECT

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Summary

• High moisture content.
• Broad and thick leaves.
• Low chemical content.
• Open and loose branching patterns.
• Deciduousness.
• Low amounts of dead material.

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What Else Can You Do?

• Community based FireWise programs
• Wildfire site assessment www.FirewiseVirginia.or
  g
• Obey burn laws
• 4 PM burn law Feb 15th April 30th 300 ft
• Subdivision guidelines http//www.dof.virginia.gov
  /fire/subdivision-guidelines.shtml

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The future

• Partnership with the Department of Forestry
• Advanced Master Gardener Land Care Steward
• Master Gardeners
• education kits
• training
• displays
• demonstration landscape projects

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For more information

• www.firewisevirginia.org
• www.firewise.org
• Frank Reilly
• www.AdvancedMasterGardener.org
• Freilly_at_LMI.org