Forest Info

Defensible Space guidelines

• Use fire resistant roofing material
• Enclose with screening or ‘hardyplank’ wooden patios and decks
• Clean gutters and roof of debris
• Remove branches which overhang roofs and decks
• Place gravel or rock around structure for 3 feet
• Place propane tanks at least 50 feet away
• Address signs clearly visible from the road
• Place screening over all external piping/vents that enters the house

Zone 1 - extends 30 feet from structures

• Remove all debris, slash, needles, leaves, dead branches and trees, etc.
• Remove all trees with canopies within 15 feet of the structure
• Prune trees within the space to at least 12 feet above ground
• Remove tall plants within 3-5 feet of structure
• Remove all plants directly beneath windows and vents
• Remove sagebrush and cut grass short
• Remove branches overhanging driveway
• Place wood for burning at least 50 feet away and uphill

Zone 2 – extends 100 feet from the structure (see below)

• Remove all slash, old wood stacks, fallen dead trees
• Remove standing dead trees
• Remove branches and ladder fuels to at least 8 feet
• Selective thinning to place crowns at least 15 feet apart

NOTE: See Firewise USA and Colorado State University Extension for the definition of Zone 2 defensible space. It extends to at least 100 feet out from the structure if built on flat ground. If the house is on a hill the defensible space is shorter going uphill and on the sides and longer downhill. For example, if the home is on a 20% slope the minimum space is 90 feet uphill and to the sides and 104 feet downhill.