About 15 years ago on an already hot July morning my husband and I, while walking our dogs, noticed smoke rising from a dried grassy area behind a subdivision wall. We called the fire into Dispatch, and Vacaville Fire quickly extinguished it. It burned less than an acre of dead grass. No one was hurt. No structures burned. The fire's cause, my husband later found out - a group of preteens playing with leftover fireworks from the night before, the 4th of July.
Not all fires turn out so well. As gardeners, we can promote fire-resistant landscapes. There are numerous resources probably even including the company for your homeowner's or renter's insurance. All mention creating a zone of defense around the home so that fire doesn't reach the structure in the first place. Fire-resistant plants, plant placement to prevent fire “ladders” and plant maintenance are key to decreasing the fuel load. Of course, having a home built of fire-resistant or non-combustible material is crucial, too.
Two resources that I have found useful are ANR Publication # 8228, Home Landscaping for Fire. In 8 pages the authors of this 2007 resource concisely make recommendations that would help any homeowner make informed decisions on how to landscape to protect against fire. The second resource is one that I bought after the Berkeley and Oakland Hills Fire of 2001. It is called Firescaping, by Douglas Kent published in 2005. It is a comprehensive resource and includes how to design a landscape for fire, removal of existing vegetation, recommended plants by plant zone, irrigation, and maintaining the fire-resistant garden. The book is currently being updated extensively and will be out next summer with a new edition. The information in the first edition is still sound advice. I did not see it in the online SNAP catalog for the Solano County libraries, but it can be purchased used online.
The first line of the book pretty well sums it up: “When it comes to fire, California is unlike any other state: It is the most flammable, the most dangerous, and its fire season lasts nearly eight months.” I would hazard a guess that the “eight months” will be changed to “year-round” in the next edition.
Today as I see ash dropping here in Vacaville on the car, the house and the landscape and as I inhale the acrid smoke from the County Fire in Guinda and Cache Creek, I hope we can help more homeowners and renters make intelligent decisions about their own living environments regarding fire safety.