1. ROOF

Remove dead branches overhanging your roof.

Remove any branches within 15 feet of your chimney.

Clean all dead leaves and needles from your roof and gutters.

Cover your chimney outlet and stovepipe with a nonflammable screen of ½ inch or smaller mesh.

When building a home, install a roof and subroof that meets a fire resistant classification. Metal, tile and asphalt roofing materials are more fire resistant than wooden shingles.

2. CONSTRUCTION

Build your home set back at least 30 feet and away from ridge tops, canyons and areas between high points on a ridge.

Build your home at least 30 feet from your property line.

Use fire resistant building materials.

Enclose the underside of balconies and above-ground decks with fire resistant materials.

Limit the size and number of windows in your home that face large areas of vegetation.

Use tempered glass for large, vulnerable windows.

Consider sprinkler systems within the house. They may protect your home while you’re away or prevent a house fire from spreading into the wildlands.

3. LANDSCAPE

See “Creating An Effective Defensible Space” and “Firescaping- Fire Smart Landscape Design”.

4. YARD

Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet from all structures and clear away flammable vegetation within 10 feet of woodpiles.

Locate gas tanks (butane and propane) at least 30 feet from any structure and surround them with 10 feet of clearance.

Remove all stacks of construction materials from your yard.

Obey local burning laws.

Compost or mulch pine needles, leaves and grass clippings.

Where burn barrels are allowed, clear flammable materials from at least 10 feet around the barrel; cover the open top with a non-flammable screen with mesh no larger than 1/4 inch.

5. EMERGENCYWATER SUPPLY

Maintain an emergency water supply that meets fire department standards through one of the following:
- a community water/hydrant system
- a cooperative emergency storage tank, pools or ponds may be used
- a minimum storage supply of 2,500 gallons on your property

Clearly mark all emergency water sources and notify your local fire department of their existence.

Create easy firefighter access to your closest emergency water source.
If your water comes from a well, consider an emergency generator to operate the pump during a power failure.

If your water comes from a well, consider an emergency generator to operate the pump during a power failure.

6. ACCESS

Identify at least two exit routes from your neighborhood.

Construct driveways to allow large emergency equipment to reach your house.

Clear flammable vegetation at least 10 feet from roads and five feet from driveways.

Post your house address at the beginning of your driveway, or on your house if it is easily visible from the road.

7. OUTSIDE

Designate an emergency meeting place outside your home.

Practice emergency exit drills regularly.

Make sure that electric service lines, fuse boxes and circuit breaker panels are installed and maintained as prescribed by code.

Contact qualified individuals to perform maintenance and repairs.

8. ACCESS STANDARDS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Construct roads that allow two-way traffic.

Design road width, grade and curves to allow access for large emergency vehicles.

Design bridges to carry heavy emergency vehicles, including bulldozers carried on large trucks.

Post clear road signs to show traffic restrictions such as dead-end roads and weight and height limitations.

Make sure dead-end roads and long driveways have turnaround areas wide enough for emergency vehicles. Construct turnouts along one-way roads.

Cut back overhanging tree branches above roads.

Make sure your street is named or numbered, and a sign is visibly posted at each intersection.

Make sure that your street name and house number are not duplicated elsewhere in the county.