Fire officials with the Douglas Forest Protective Association and local fire departments are urging homeowners to take time this spring to create defensible space around their homes to help reduce the risk of property damage in the event of a wildfire, later this summer.
"Creating defensible space is a relatively simple, effective way to reduce a home’s wildfire risk, for little or no cost," DFPA said in a news release.
Defensible space is the area around a home or other structure where fuels and vegetation have been treated, cleared or reduced to slow the spread of a wildfire. By having adequate defensible space, officials say the risk of a wildfire spreading from the surrounding vegetation to a nearby home is greatly reduced.
Homeowners can create defensible space by pruning nearby trees, removing underbrush, mowing tall grass, and by removing all dead or dying vegetation within 200 feet of a structure. In addition, pine needles and leaves which have accumulated in gutters, on the roof and other places around the home should also be removed.