Nature is beautiful when you use it for your need but it is also disastrous when you abuse it for your greed. History has experienced a massive loss of life forms due to the wild behavior of air, water, land & fire. Human as a race has experienced tornados, whirlpools, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, glaciers, wildfires, droughts and many more. We have always tried to overcome the natural calamity and the loss it has created but more than that it is always better to prevent huge losses of life and property by following a few precautionary fire-resistant measures every time the calamity occurs. 

“Fire is a good servant but a bad master” 

When fire becomes a master it spreads very fast especially in the forests and spares no species. The residents who are located near the forest areas should be very cautious and should practice well maintained fire-resistant landscaping. Wildfires spread in three different ways: one-by direct flame, two- by contact with embers (embers are small dried twigs and leaves of plants) and three-by radiant heat. Have you ever wondered when a wildfire strikes a few houses remain safe while the others are the victims of wildfire? Fire Prevention Santa Barbara landscaping is to take helpful precautionary measures to reduce the loss caused by wildfire. Fire can burn almost anything and everything including the landscape. However, by using these fire-resistant techniques we can reduce the number of losses that happen.

Houses can survive the wildfires by the combination of precautions listed below:

  1. Brilliant selection of landscape & maintenance
  2. Placement & management of fire igniting materials (example: furniture used in the lawn & litters which ignite a fire.) 
  3. Use of fire prevention and fire-resistant materials in the construction

Precautions for wildfire:

If your neighbor’s house is very near then there are high chances of risk that heat gets radiated to the house if the neighbor’s house is on fire. Materials used for the roof must be fire resistant so metals or other materials which has a class A fire rating must be used. Proper landscape maintenance of roof or replacement of it is advisable to make the house safe. Ventilators provide a proper flow of air in and out of the house, especially in time of wildfire care should be taken that the embers do not enter inside via the vents. Because this may ignite the other household items and result in a disaster. So, what is another Fire Prevention Santa Barbara tip? To secure a vent is to temporarily cover it up by using a metal tape from inside the house.

Almost all the vegetation can burn during a wildfire. The vegetation at the premises of the house can be divided into three different zones for safety. In zone 1 i.e. from 0-5 feet from house the grass should be low & well-cut, cut the branches of the tree which overhangs the house and the plants grown must be fire resistant and should have resin content or low sap. In zone 2 i.e. from 5-30 feet from the house, the tall plants and trees must have proper distancing between them. The dry leaves and twigs must be cleaned and well maintained as the leaves can ignite very easily. This fire-resistant zone can consist of the trees from 5-10 feet from the ground. The landscape should be open structured, less resinous and high moisture content plants. In zone 3 i.e. from 30-100 feet from the house thin and mature trees can be planted with a good distance & removal of dead trees is required to prevent fire. The goal in this zone is to prevent the spread of fire and keep the flames on the ground. Never store combustibles on the deck, clean the debris that is accumulated on the deck and maintain it well. As flames approach the house it’s better to close the windows and doors to prevent ember entering inside the house. Multi-pane windows are preferable which has the least damage to radiant heat.  

There are many fire-resistant plants available according to your geographical area. A few useful and preferred landscape properties in the fire-resistant plants & materials are as follows:

  1. Stone walls can be used to create fire-resistant zones
  2. Plants species which are fire retardant are preferred such as aloe, ice-plant and rockrose.
  3. Plantation of trees like pine, cherry, maple, etc, are less flammable.

If you enjoyed this article, you can check for our lawn care tips or yard drainage advices.