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There are two primary principles in designing landscapes to protect against fire: fuel reduction and interruption of a fire's path. A FireSmart landscape uses fire resistant plants that are strategically planted to resist the spread of fire to your home. You'll find that it doesn't take a lot of money to create a beautifully landscaped property that is FireSmart, helps conserve water use, and even increases property values. Remember that fire does not respect property lines - so entire communities are encouraged to be FireSmart. One person's best effort at FireSmart landscaping may be at the mercy of a neighbour's complacency.
Introduction
When landscaping around a home, most homeowners are interested in creating a landscape that is aesthetically pleasing, complements their home, and has variations in color, texture, flowers, and foliage. If your home is located in or adjacent to forests or rangeland, you also should consider the flammability of plants within your home landscape. Flammable plant material in your landscape can increase the fire-risk around your home.
Homeowners should take active steps to minimize or reduce the fuel and fire-hazard around their homes, including planting fire resistant plants. Good placement of fire resistant trees, for example, can, in fact, help protect your home by blocking intense heat. There is a wide array of trees and other plants to choose for your landscape that are both attractive and FireSmart. The tables below provide some options for fire resistant perennials, groundcovers, trees, and shrubs.
So what are fire-resistant plants? Fire resistant plants are plants that don't readily ignite from a flame or other ignition sources. Although fire-resistant plants can be damaged or even killed by fire, their foliage and stems don't contribute significantly to the fuel and, therefore, the fire's intensity.
Plants that are fire-resistant have the following characteristics:
- Leaves are moist and supple.
- Plants that have little dead wood and tend not to accumulate dry, dead material within the plant.
- Sap is water-like and does not have a strong odour.
Most deciduous trees and shrubs are fire-resistant. However, it's important to remember that even fire-resistant plants can burn, particularly if they are not maintained in a healthy condition.
In contrast, plants which are highly flammable have these general characteristics:
- Contain fine, dry or dead material within the plant such as twigs, needles, and leaves. Leaves, twigs, and stems contain volatile waxes, terpenes, or oils.
- Leaves are aromatic (strong smell when crushed)
- Sap is gummy, resinous and has a strong odour.
- May have loose or papery bark.
Both ornamental and native plants can be highly flammable. An example of a highly flammable ornamental shrub often planted in home landscapes is ornamental juniper. Examples of highly flammable native shrubs include bitterbrush, manzanita, sagebrush, and ceanothus. Avoid planting these plants around your home.
For information regarding nurseries in your area and to enquire about availability of fire resistant plant, shrub and tree species see the following link: http://www.gardenwise.bc.ca
Maintenance
It's important to note that any plant can burn after severe or prolonged drought conditions. Most plants accumulate excess woody material and all shed some seasonal foliage. Branches spread, often touching other vegetation. Weeds grow between landscape plants. Homeowners should reduce accumulations of potential fuel by regular pruning, mowing and raking, followed by proper disposal. The less accumulated plant debris, the slower a fire will spread. Reducing the amount of fuel limits a fire's intensity.
Watering
Healthy plants will be harder to ignite. Drip irrigation systems are effective and conserve water because they target where the water goes and how much gets there. Use sprinklers for lawns and ensure your lawn is getting the right amount of water to keep it green, healthy and fire resistant.
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