If your property is to survive a wildfire, it needs "defensible space." That means you've created a home that can survive without intervention from available firefighters.
Missoula County Defensible Space
Is your vegetation strategically limited? Can responding firefighters safely work on your property? Your goal: A home that can withstand the flame front. Limit the "little things" that can capture an ember.
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When fire danger increases dramatically and smoke is in the air from wildfires near and far, folks want to know what to do to protect their homes from wildfire.
So, before wildfire smoke is in the air, prepare your property with defensible space: Create a buffer between the flames and your valuables to reduce the chances that flying embers will stop, linger and destroy. Your home can better survive a wildfire with your strategic help.
DEFENSIBLE SPACE: We live on a uniquely fire planet.
A regularly watered lawn surrounding your home cools the air and can retard the spread of flames from a nearby wildfire. If you can't keep a greenbelt, make sure vegetation is maintained at its lowest height. For maximum safety, do this work well before fire season.
"When creating defensible space, landowners should consider managing multiple ecological goals, including slope stabilization with deeply rooted vegetation, riparian and wetland systems, wildlife habitat and more." - Wildfire Adapted Missoula County website
Firefighters know from decades of research and study that homes burn down because flames and embers find "the little things" on your property and then linger there to burn: Things like leaves under your wooden deck or in the gutters of your roof. Enough small fires on your property without firefighter intervention, your home or plot of woods will burn.
CREATING DEFENSIBLE SPACE in Missoula County Montana
