FIRE PROTECTION: What You Need to Know

It has been a busy start to the fire season in California. In many of the fires where we have seen homes destroyed, there has been a lack of defensible space around the homes. This is the area within the perimeter of a parcel where brush clearance, emergency access, and other wildfire prevention measures must be maintained.


Recent changes in state law require that homeowners in certain high fire risk areas maintain defensible space clearance out to 100 feet from their home, expanded from the 30-foot firebreak that was already required.Even if you are not in a high fire risk area, it’s a good idea to create enough defensible space around your property to decrease the risk of fire.

Here is a link to the brochure of the CDF's guidelines for creating defensible space: http://fire.ca.gov/cdfbofdb/PDFS/4291finalguidelines2_23_06.pdf

For more information, the CDF website is http://www.fire.ca.gov/