“Hey Chief, when should I do my defensible space around the house?”

Good question! There are many signs that tell you it’s time to clean up your property and develop defensible space. One is the seasonal change we are currently experiencing. When the warmer weather starts to move in, that’s a good time to get outside and get to work. Another not-so-subtle hint – when you receive a defensible space inspection report.

Are you operating a short-term rental? Are you planning on selling your property soon? Well, in both of those cases you are required to create defensible space. Perhaps you just need some time outdoors! What better way to scratch that itch than caring for our precious environment. All of these are good reasons to get your defensible space done.

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So, what is defensible space? Defensible space allows your home to defend itself from an approaching wildfire. In these large events, firefighting resources become scarce and may not be readily available to protect your home. Quite simply, defensible space lowers the probability of your home catching fire. If you have good defensible space, you are also more likely to safely evacuate your home early, knowing that you’ve done all you can to protect your property.

Defensible space also protects the forest and adjacent properties from a fire that originates on your property. House fires are common and to suppress these fires, firefighters need a safe place to work. Defensible space is that safe area where firefighters can work to contain the fire to the area of origin. Without defensible space and rapid suppression, these fires can extend to the adjacent forest growing exponentially and becoming catastrophic.

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Did you know that May is wildfire prevention month? That’s another clue that it’s a good time to take care of defensible space. However up here in the mountains, May, may be a little early. It’s hard to rake pine needles when they are covered in snow. Some of our lower elevations are ready, but up on Donner Summit or over on Tahoe’s west shore you may need to wait until June – use your best judgment.

To guide that judgment, I offer the following. Plan to do the bulk of the work in the spring. This is the time when we deal with winter breakage, dead and downed trees, and when we get our homes ready for summer. You should also plan for more work in the fall, when pine needles start to drop, fuels are dry and seasonal changes can produce strong weather events with atypical winds that are frequently tied to catastrophic fires. So while the bulk of the work should be done in the spring, don’t forget to do a little clean-up in the fall.

Now for the hard truth. California Public Resources Code 4291 states: Building owners shall at all times have all of the following: Defensible Space, zone one: lean, clean and green; zone 2 limbed, thin and separated. So yes, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we all need to have defensible space all the time! Let’s face it, we just don’t know when or where fires will happen, so we need to remain vigilant.

Hopefully, you can find joy in the process of creating defensible space. Let us work together to nurture our cherished forest and protect our properties. For more information on defensible space, visit http://www.truckeefire.org/dspace

Thanks for reading,

Kevin McKechnie
Fire Chief
Truckee Fire Protection District