Home Hardening

Call the fire hall at (530) 335-7111 or email osvfc@outlook.com to schedule a FREE home hardening inspection with Tess. Taking the steps below dramatically improves the odds your home — and your neighbor's home — will survive a wildfire.

The FAIR Plan offers discounts for property mitigation efforts. Contact your insurance broker for available discounts (you'll need photographic evidence, e.g., a Class-A fire rated roof).

Create a 5-foot home buffer

• Remove ALL vegetation within 5 feet of your home.
• Remove all branches within 5 feet of your home or within 10 feet of any chimney.
• Remove leaves, needles, or other vegetation on or under decks.
• No woodpiles within the buffer.
• Install hardscape such as concrete or non-combustible rock mulch around your home.
• Replace wood fencing with a metal section for the first five feet.
• If building a new deck, use Trex (or similar) instead of wood.

Prepare your home's exterior

• Check and maintain your roof and gutters.
• Ensure a Class A fire-rated roof cover (tile, slate, or metal).
• Replace plastic gutters with metal gutters.
• Ensure 6" vertical clearance of non-combustible siding material (e.g., flashing).
• Install ember-resistant vents with 1/8" metal wire mesh.

Maintain decks and yard

• Clear and maintain decks and covered porches; clear tree debris regularly.
• Remove large rugs and combustible furniture from decks.
• Move hot tubs at least 10 feet from the house.
• Remove anything stored under a deck; clear all vegetation from under decks and stairs.
• Put 6" of metal flashing around all deck posts.
• Include a 5-foot non-combustible buffer around decks and stairs.
• If your deck is 4 feet or lower, install 1/8" metal wire mesh around the outer edge.
• Cut grass to no more than 4" and keep it watered.
• Remove tree limbs within 6 feet of the ground.
• Trim upper branches to maintain 10 feet of separation for trees within 30 feet of the house.

Other

• Propane tanks and outbuildings need 10' of clearance to bare soil, with no flammable vegetation for an additional 10'.
• Display address numbers in contrasting colors (4" minimum height), readable from the street.
• Chimney openings need a metal screen with openings between 3/8" and 1/2".
• If remodeling, use fire-resistant siding and roofing materials.

Fire-safe landscaping & defensible space zones

California defensible space is organized into three zones extending out from your home. Choosing low-resin, high-moisture plants and keeping fuels separated between zones slows a fire's advance and gives crews room to defend the structure.

Zone 0 — Ember-resistant zone (0 to 5 feet)

• No plants, mulch, or combustible material against the house — use gravel, pavers, or bare mineral soil.
• Move woodpiles, propane tanks, patio furniture cushions, and door mats out of this zone.
• Keep this strip continuous around decks, stairs, and attached fences.

Zone 1 — Lean, clean & green (5 to 30 feet)

• Favor low-growing, well-hydrated fire-resistant plants: yarrow, lavender, sedum, coral bells, penstemon, California fuchsia, and native currants.
• Keep plantings in small "islands" separated by hardscape or irrigated lawn — no continuous beds of shrubs.
• Remove dead branches, pine needles, and leaf litter; prune tree limbs at least 6 feet off the ground.
• Avoid high-resin conifers, junipers, arborvitae, ornamental grasses, and bark mulch close in.

Zone 2 — Reduced fuel (30 to 100 feet)

• Mow annual grasses to a maximum height of 4 inches.
• Maintain 10 feet of horizontal spacing between tree canopies (more on slopes).
• Remove "ladder fuels" — brush and low limbs that let a ground fire climb into the crowns.
• Break up continuous fuel with driveways, paths, or irrigated planting islands.

For a full plant list and diagrams, see CAL FIRE's Ready for Wildfire — Defensible Space guide.