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S.M. Stein, J. Menakis, M.A. Carr, S.J. Comas, S.I. Stewart, H. Cleveland, L. Bramwell,and V.C. Radeloff Read More »By:
M. Brooks and M. LuskFire management can help maintain natural habitats, increase forage for wildlife, reduce fuel loads that might otherwise lead to catastrophic wildfire, and maintain natural succession. Today, there is an emerging challenge that fire managers need to be aware of: invasive plants. Fire management activities can create ideal opportunities for invasions by nonnative plants, potentially undermining the benefits of fire management actions. This manual provides practical guidelines that fire managers should consider with respect to invasive plants.
Read More »Landscaping Tips to Help Defend Your Home from Wildfire
You can have both a beautiful landscape and a defensible fire-safe zone around your home. A minimum defensible space of 100 feet around your home is required by California law (Public Resources Code 4291). This space consists of a 30-foot Lean, Clean, and Green zone and a 70-foot reduced fuel zone. The goal is to protect your home while providing a safe area for firefighters. Local terrain and wind patterns may make it prudent to have an even larger zone. Check with your local fire department for defensible space requirements in your area. Current regulations also allow an insurance company to require additional clearance.
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Yvonne Carree BarkleyOn public lands, forests and rangelands actually begin healing before most of major fires are controlled. Teams of specialists in hydrology, geology, soils, range management, botany, engineering, archaeology, and forestry assess the damage done by the fire and determine how to prevent one natural disaster being
followed by another. But what should private forestland owners be looking for? How do you assess wildfire damage to your forest and plan for the future management of your land?
Read More »Home Landscaping for Fire
Incorporating fire safe concepts into your landscape is one of the most important ways you can help your home survive a wildfire. Through proper planning, you can have both a beautiful landscape and a fire safe home. Learn how to establish and maintain a "defensible space" around your home in areas that are susceptible to wildfire. Download the PDF.
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William BakerFire Ecology in Rocky Mountain Landscapes brings a century of scientific research to bear on improving the relationship between people and fire.
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Ron MahoneyOn July 30, 2003, our Moscow Mountain home, shop, and 5-acre forest property burned to the ground in a human-caused wildfire that covered 200 acres and consumed 4 other homes. It was 98 degrees that day, with about 5% humidity and a 10 mph wind when the fire started. We had done many of the things we advise in our popular publication Landscaping for Fire Prevention. We had a large area of gravel and grass around the home, a circular turnaround that could accommodate large trucks and fire engines
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Randy BrooksHydrophobic soils repel water. A thin layer of soil at or below the mineral soil surface can become hydrophobic after intense heating. The hydrophobic layer is the result of a waxy substance that is derived from plant material burned during a hot fire.
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Yvonne Carree BarkleyFire in the forest! Though a natural part of the ecosystems of the Inland West, wildfire is one of the most feared, most fought, and most controversial components of our physical environment.
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Yvonne Carree BarkleyFire is an important natural process of forests and rangelands. But while fire plays an important role in the ecology of these areas, it can be devastating if homes, valuable timber, and range areas are destroyed.
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Gary R. Herbert and John Hickenlooper Read More »