PRUNING AND LADDER FUELS

Firewise thinning and pruning can help your home survive a wildfire.

Managing the crown spacing between trees, pruning up limbs, and eliminating ladder fuels will keep a wildland fire on the ground. A fire on the ground is easier to control than one in the tree crowns and will cause less damage to your trees.

 

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Zone 1: "Defensible Space"

This is the most important 30' space around your home.

It is your yard and should be landscaped for leisure and fun, but at the same time as a potential barrier to the spread of fire.

  • A good place for grass lawn and stone or concrete patios.
  • Ornamental shrubs should be fire resistant and no taller than 18".
  • Use fire resistant broadleaf trees for shade.
  • Prune lower limbs to 6-10' above ground level.
  • Eliminate foundation conifers such as junipers.
  • Isolate trees.
  • Cut or mow grass to a maximum of 2" high.

Zone 2: "The Mid Zone"

The next 30'-70' space around your home. This is an area for landscape trees and shrubs, orchards and gardens, but not for wild, dense woodland vegetation.

  • Maintain space between ornamental or wild shrubs at least twice as wide as their diameter.
  • Prune lower limbs of trees up to 6'-10' above ground level.
  • Ideally, use only fire resistant trees and shrubs in this zone.
  • Tree crown spacing should not be less than eight feet.
  • Clean-up dead limbs and remove ladder fuels.
  • Cut or mow grass to a maximum of 8" high.

Zone 3: "The Outermost Zone"

The next 70'-100' space around your home.

This is the wild forest area, but precautions are still in order.

  • Thin forest trees so that crowns are separated by at least 10'.
  • Prune lower limbs of trees up to at least 10' above ground level.
  • Prevent ladder fuel from developing.
  • Occasionally dead trees for wildlife are important; accumulations of dead woody material on the ground, high and/or dense slash, or patches of dead trees should be kept to a minimum or eliminated.
  • Clean-up dead limbs and remove ladder fuels. 2 times height

Maintain adequate cleared space between ornamental or wild shrubs. Ladder fuels are created when vegetation of different heights is close enough to allow a ground fire to climb up into tree tops.

 

 
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Updated November 17, 2002

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