A defensible space is a section around a building in which plants, debris, and other kinds of flammable fuels have been removed, or decreased to slow the spread of fire to and from the building. Wildland plants such as turf, brush, and lumber can be very flammable.
How do you make a defensible space?
Remove all dead plants, lawn and weeds (plant life). Eliminate dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your backyard, roof and gutter. Eliminate branches that hang over your roofing system and keep dead branches 10 feet far from your chimney. Trim trees frequently to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
The number of feet from your home is the most important for defensible space?
California law is that homeowners has to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around houses and structures to increase the home’s opportunity of lasting through a wildfire.
House owners in SRA are required to clear out flammable materials such as brush or plant life around their buildings to produce a defensible space buffer. This helps stop the progress of an approaching wildfire and keeps firemen safe while they defend your house.
For big brush cleaning tasks landscape companies that specialize in hillside cleaning, lot cleaning, and brush clearing are normally hired to produce defensible space. Brush clearing is selectively clearing a property of all the smaller sized greenery and thick stands of smaller sized trees. Undesirable vegetation is mulched into a soil renewing layer, turning unusable property into a park like area.
Landscape companies that specialize in creating that protective area about homes and structures will have on hand the very best tools needed to finish brush cleaning tasks. A few of those tools are:
– Chainsaws
– Stump Grinders
– Tree Trimmers
– Weed Wackers
– Bull Dozers
One such business in California is Riverside Tree Service. This business is family owned and has more than 25 years experience caring for the natural landscape of neighborhoods in Riverside, CA.
Assistance for Low Income Seniors for Defensible Space Assistance
A program for low income seniors and physically disabled persons was created to provide financial assistance to adhere to the state mandate of defensible space around their homes in San Diego, California.
The Defensible Space Assistance Program (DSAP) services provide:
– Brush and tree trimming/thining
– Raking of dead leaves and pine needles
– Chipping of removed vegetation. Chips are left onsite
– On-site education about effective defensible space
– Initial one-day defensible space clean up
– Performed by professional contractors, who are bonded and insured
To qualify for the program:
– persons must be over 65 yrs of age or have a medical physical disability making it impossible for them to do the clean up work themselves;
– they must be deemed financially unable to hire a contractor:
*One-person household with an income less than $2,842 per month or $38,950 annually
*Two-person household must have an income less than $3,246 per month or $38,950 annually
