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Hundreds sometimes thousands of
homes across the US are lost each year to the
ravages of wildfire. Although we see it all
the time, splashed all over the news in the western
states, here in the east there still seems to be a
high level of complacency in this regard. This
is not just a western problem; whenever and wherever
homes are built in forested areas this is the risk
we take. This area is known as the Wildland
Urban Interface or WUI. Homes and businesses
in the WUI are always at risk no matter what their
geographical location. The simple fact is, fire has
no conscience and it also does not discriminate.
Fire is an equal opportunity destroyer. Fire
views your home and its surroundings as one thing
and one thing only - FUEL. The good news is,
there is something we can do to help prevent this
loss. We can make our homes and businesses
Fire Wise. The most basic principle of
Fire Wise is "Defensible Space". For
some this conjures images of a stark, barren,
unpleasant landscape devoid of any and all trees and
other vegetation. Why; because they confuse the term
defensible space with open space. This is
simply not the case and is in fact contrary to the
very heart of what it is to be Fire Wise.
To start with, no vegetation
means no root mass to stabilize topsoil and prevent
erosion. When the soil erodes, it exposes
nearby root systems killing that vegetation and dead
vegetation equals fuel. Heavy fuel loading,
even on the perimeter of your property can actually
present an increased risk of losing your home to a
wildfire. Such fuel loading tends to cause
large firebrand (ember) storms which are carried by
the same winds that are pushing the fire in the
direction of your home, and if it is pushing the
fire in the direction of your home, guess what
direction it will carry those firebrands.
Live, green, healthy vegetation
that has been carefully selected and spaced
correctly provides both aesthetically pleasing
surroundings and a barrier against an approaching
wildfire, while at the same time giving the
aforementioned stability to the topsoil to prevent
erosion.
The Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources has an excellent video on their
website that shows very well how homes and
businesses can benefit from Fire Wise practices.
Click to view the video; this will open a new
browser window. Hint: For
those with slower connections, you may want to right
click on the video link of your choice and select
"Save Target As..." from the right click menu and
then save it to your desktop. This will allow
you to download the entire video making it possible
to view even the high res video without
interruption. Also, if you have a Windows
based computer, select the WMV file; if you have a
Mac, select the MP4 file.
This article by Tabitha Suukhai
of This Old House Online shows us just how to
incorporate Fire Wise landscaping practices in
around our homes and businesses.
Click to read article; this will open a new
browser window.
One important closing note; just
because one may not have a great deal of money to
spare does not mean he or she cannot do things to
make their home Fire Wise. Many of the changes
are very simple things that you could do yourself
and these simple changes can have some of the
greatest impact. It all starts however, when
we stop and view our homes and properties the way a
fire does, as fuel.
Other Fire Wise Links:
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