What can you do to help protect your property this spring and create your own defensible space?
“It does not cost a lot,” says Kelly Niles, wildland fire supervisor for the Oregon Department of Forestry in Columbia County. “You can use most of the tools you already have around your house to do what we’re talking about, or you can rent the equipment you might need for a day. It just requires a little bit of hard labor.”
Before You Start
- Make sure your home is clearly marked with a visible address.
- Register for the Columbia 911 Citizen Alert Network (CAN) to receive accurate information about weather, law enforcement concerns, and evacuation notices.
- Prepare a to-go bag with essentials for evacuation.
Immediate Zone (1 to 5 Feet)
- Regularly clean gutters of leaves and needles.
- Landscape with nonflammable materials like rock, gravel, sand or concrete.
- Limb up trees and prune overhanging branches.
- Do not store combustibles against structures, including firewood.
- Do not store anything under decks.
Intermediate Zone (5 to 30 Feet)
- Remove excess vegetation, including invasive species.
- Remove highly flammable plants and replace with high moisture plants, such as native plants.
- Remove trees closer than 30 feet.
- Keep your lawn mowed.
Extended Zone (30 to 100 Feet)
- Be wary of ladder fuels, such as shrubs, to prevent fire from spreading upward into trees.
- Consider creating openings or meadows between groups of trees.