Defensible Space

Defensible space is essential to improve your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. It’s the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surround it. This space is needed to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and it helps protect your home from catching fire—either from direct flame contact or radiant heat. Defensible space is also important for the protection of the firefighters defending your home.

Go to ReadyForWildfire.org for more detailed information to prepare for and survive a wildfire.

The Greater Alpine Fire Safe Council currently has programs available to aid residents in clearing defensible space (i.e. 100 ft of brush clearance around their homes) in the Greater Alpine area.

  Ignition Resistant Zone

0 – 5 feet from any habitable structure

This area functions to reduce the potential that embers landing near a building will ignite fuels and expose the area around a home to a direct flame.

  • Use non-combustible materials such as rock, stone pavers, cement, bare earth, gravel, or sand.

  • Trim and or remove vegetation to be no greater than 18 inches in height.

  • Remove all plants and shrubs near windows.

  • Remove leaves, needles, or other dead vegetation growth from all roofs and gutters.

  • Remove dead vegetation and remove all leaves, needles, or other debris that falls in this zone.

  • Clear vegetation and items that could ignite from around and under decks.

  • Use of mulch, bark, and or compost shall be prohibited.

Zone 1

Zone 1 extends 50 feet* from buildings, structures, decks, etc.

  • Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).

  • Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.

  • Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.

  • Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.

  • Relocate wood piles to Zone 2.

  • Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.

  • Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.

  • Create a separation between trees, shrubs, and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.


Zone 2

Zone 2 extends 100 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc.

  • Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.

  • Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees. (See diagram)

  • Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees. (See diagram)

  • Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches. However, they may be permitted to a depth of 3 inches.

* Check with your local fire department for any additional defensible space or weed abatement ordinances.