Firewise
Landscaping
Experience has
shown that landscape design is one of the most important factors
in a home's survival. An aggressive defensible space and fuels
reduction plan can greatly increase your home's chance of survivability
in a wildfire without decreasing the aesthetic value of your home.
To create an
effective Firewise landscape, remember that the primary goal is
fuel reduction. To this end, create defensible space zones around
your home. Zone 1 is the closest to your house. Zones 2 and 3
move progressively away from your house.
Defensible
Space Zoning
Zone 1: (0
- 30 feet from residence)
(0-5 feet from residence)
·
All trees should be removed
·
No vegetation of any kind should be present
·
Consider placing decorative rock or gravel around the house
(5-30 feet from
residence)
·
Thin trees to a spacing of 8-10 feet between crowns
·
Prune trees so that the lowest branches are 8-10
feet above the ground
·
Standing dead and dead topped trees should be removed
·
Dispose of all slash and dead, down trees by hauling
off, chipping or piling and burning
·
Mow grasses to keep them low, a maximum of 6 inches
high
·
Plant dispersed firesafe trees and/or shrubs, such
as aspen
Zone 2: (30
- 60 feet from residence)
· Thin
trees to a spacing of 8-10 feet between crowns
· Prune
trees so that the lowest branches are 6-8 feet above the ground
· Remove
standing dead and dead topped trees
· Dispose
of most slash and dead, down trees by hauling off, chipping or piling
and burning
· Small
amounts of slash can be lopped and scattered for decomposition
· Plant
aspen trees in open areas
Zone 3 (60
- 90 feet from residence)
· Thin
trees to a spacing of 6-8 feet between crowns
· Pruning
is not necessary in this zone
· Treat
slash by lop-and-scatter, chipping or piling and burning
Fuel Treatment
Recommendations beyond 90 feet
·
Continue thinning, pruning and slash activities as recommended in
Zone 3
· Remove
most standing dead and dead topped trees; two per acre could be
left for wildlife as long as the trees pose no threat to structures
or access roads.
Insect &
Disease Attack Prevention
An aggressive
defensible space and fuels reduction plan will also promote healthy
vegetation in the forest surrounding your home. Insect and disease
attacks such as Comandra Blister Rust, Dwarf Mistletoe, and Mountain
Pine Beetle can devastate an unhealthy, overgrown forest in a very
short time. However, with selective fuels reduction you can promote
tree health and improve growth while inhibiting the spread of insects
and diseases.
Comandra
Blister Rust is a disease that is caused by
a fungus growing in the inner bark. The fungus has a complex life
cycle. It infects lodgepole pines, but needs an alternate host,
an unrelated plant to spread from one pine to another.
On lodgepole
pines, the fungus causes growth reduction, stem deformity, and mortality.
In addition, pines with stem cankers produce significantly fewer
cones and seeds than healthy trees.
Dwarf
Mistletoe is a native, parasitic, seed plant that occurs
essentially throughout the range of western conifers in North America.
It is the most damaging disease agent in coniferous trees, causing
severe growth loss and increased tree mortality.
In the United
States, the principle host of Dwarf Mistletoe is the lodgepole pine.
It is occasionally found on limber and ponderosa pines, Engelmann
spruce, blue spruce, whitebark pine, and Rocky Mountain bristlecone
pines as well.
Abnormally tufted
branches characterize affected trees. These growths, which are
caused by the Dwarf Mistletoe, are called witches' brooms. Dwarf
Mistletoe can cause the tree's growth to slow and eventually the
crown will die. It also reduces the seed production of the host
trees and can cause deformities such as cankers and knots.
Mountain
Pine Beetle is a member of a group of beetles known as bark
beetles. Except when the adults emerge and attack new trees, the
mountain pine beetle completes its life cycle under the bark of
the tree.
The beetle attacks
and kills lodgepole, ponderosa, and western white pines. Outbreaks
frequently develop in lodgepole pine stands that are grouped in
dense stands of trees.
During epidemics,
widespread tree mortality alters the forest ecosystem. Often, beetles
have almost completely depleted the commercial pine forests. Moreover,
the dead trees that are left after an epidemic are a source of readily
ignitable fuel that will burn unless removed.
Douglas-fir
Beetle is an insect that infests and kills Douglas-fir
throughout most of its range in western United States. Douglas-fir
beetles normal kill small groups of trees, but during outbreaks
hundreds of infected tree groups are not uncommon. Losses can be
devastating during periodic outbreaks.
At low or endemic
levels, the beetle infests scattered trees, including windfalls
and trees injured by fire, defoliation, or root disease. Where such
susceptible trees are abundant, once they have been infested and
killed, beetle populations can build up rapidly and spread to adjacent
green, standing trees.
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