Resources
There is a tremendous volume of high quality fire educational material available to the public. Here we’ve tried to gather the best of the available resources. Most are available as downloadable PDF, which require you to have Adobe Reader installed. If you don’t have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free here.
There are plenty of books written about fire safety. Two of the best ones available are:
All of the materials on this page are the property of their creators, and do not constitute endorsement by this website or this organization.
Wildfire: Are you at risk?
Creating an Ignition Resistant Home and Property
- State Laws and Codes Affecting Californians
* Getting Ready for the Fire Season
Developing a Community Fire Organization
Becoming a Fire Wise Community
Developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Wildfire: Are you at risk?
Likely one of the most frequently asked questions by homeowners is how great their property’s fire risk is. The Homeowner Wildfire Assessment, developed by the Center for Fire Research and Outreach at the University of California, Berkeley, is an online tool that guides you through assessing your home’s risk to wildfire. The tool is also available in Spanish. If you’d prefer to avoid the DIY approach, we provide low-cost or free evaluations in many counties throughout California.
There are many facts and myths about wildland fire (PDF Brochure) but one undeniable truth is that for those who live in California, fire is an annual part of life. Firewise offers a longer handout discussing fire risk (PDF). Some areas are at higher risk of catastrophic fire than others. You can download Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps from Cal Fire covering every county in the state of California here.
Creating an Ignition Resistant Home and Property
The Center for Fire Research and Outreach at UC Berkeley has a site that visually compares how various building design and material selections fare in a fire situation. They also discuss possible solutions to common building design and material problems in their Homeowner’s Wildfire Mitigation Guide.
State Laws and Codes Affecting Californians
Summary of Fire Safe Regulations affecting all Californians:
-Roads must be wide enough for fire equipment to get in while cars are evacuating (unless exempted)
-Emergency water for firefighting must be available
-Burn permits are required for pile burning
-100’ of defensible space is required around all buildings
-Spark arrestors are required in vegetated areas
The following regulations apply only to new development:
-Road names and addresses must be posted on clearly visible signposts
-Roofs on all new buildings must be at least Class C fire resistive or noncombustible
Important Note: These are state regulations only. Counties, cities, and insurance companies may impose clearance requirements of greater than 100’. Check local laws and your insurance company to determine the requirements in your area.
California’s Wildland-Urban Interface Regulations are primarily CA Building Code 7A (PDF) and Fire Safe Regulation PRC 4290 (FTP), 4291, and Title 14 (PDF). For a comprehensive list of codes that relate the Calfiornia WUI, see the Cal Fire website.
Recent updates to regulatory codes will take effect in January 2011. All new construction (as well as retrofits/remodels of buildings constructed after the WUI building codes took effect) must comply with the state’s Wildland-urban interface (WUI) building codes.
Products that comply with the new standards may be found in the New Product Handbook (PDF).
Defensible Space
In order to comply with California’s clearance requirement PRC 4291, homeowners and renters anywhere in the state that has flammable vegetation must clear 100’ feet of defensible around homes and all structures. But what is defensible space and why 100 feet? (PDF Brochure)
Defensible space is an area providing the key point of defense against an approaching wildfire or an escaping structure fire. Defensible space dramatically increases home survivability, and gives firefighters a place to protect your home from.
California suggests two zones: The “Lean, Green, and Clean” zone that is 0-30’ from the home or structure, and the 30-100’ “Fuel Reduction Zone”.
Lean, Clean and Green Zone: Remove combustible materials from beneath deck, stairways, and overhangs. Remove leaves and pine needles from roof and gutters. All green trees should be limbed up six feet from the ground, all dead trees removed. All limbs removed at least 10 feet from the chimney, spark arrestor in place, Firewood removed a safe distance from the structure, vegetation removed at least ten feet from the propane tank, roadways and driveway access clear, address clearly marked, litter permitted to a depth of 3 inches. Downed logs may be retained when isolated from other vegetation.
Reduction zone: Clearance between fuels between 4-40 feet both horizontally and vertically. Remove lower limbs between 6-15 feet.
Fire Safe Landscaping
Fire-safe landscaping doesn’t have to be complicated. This guide (PDF) from the UC Master Gardener program is short and direct. The California Fire Safe Council offers three options for Fire Safe Landscaping flyers: Brushland(PDF), Grassland(PDF), and Timberland (PDF). For a more detailed description of how to create a fire-resistant property, try the Home Landscaping Fire Guide (PDF) from the UC Extension.
Getting Ready for the Fire Season
Spring is the perfect time to start preparing your home and property for the fire season. Firewise offers a straightfowardguide to fire safe landscaping and construction (PDF) . Overwhelmed by all the options? Use this short Homeowner Checklist(PDF), also available in Spanish (PDF).
Developing a Community Fire Organization
Why start a community fire organization? Homeowners working together to achieve common goals can be far more successful than a single individual working alone. Too, a fire safe council or other community organization offers a meeting place for stakeholders from agencies, organizations, industry, and the public to get together and discuss goals, priorities, and strategy. It is often a significant time commitment, and while many fire safe councils have a paid coordinator or President, the bulk of the work done to keep these community organizations alive is done by volunteer work.
Before you think about starting a community organization, check to see if there is already one in place. Search for local fire safe councils in California here.
Creating a Fire Safe Council
Fire safe councils (FSC) are community organizations formed in California with the goal of making their communities more resistant to the threat of wildfires. In addition to members of the public, FSCs typically have representation from local, state, and federal fire management agencies as well as a broad range of interested stakeholders from government, industry, local businesses and environmental organizations. FSCs range in size from a homeowner’s association to organizations that cover an entire county. FSCs help protect the communities they serve from catastrophic wildfire through community education and collaboratively organizing projects that are designed to reduce wildfire threat. There are more than 100 Fire Safe councils in California.
The California Fire Safe Council (PDF Brochure), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which administers federal funding through the Grants Clearinghouse for members of the California Fire Alliance, provides guidance for communities interested in creating their own FSC. Their online instructions provide a step by step process for creating a FSC, and they provide a substantialFSC Handbook (PDF). Additionally, the California Fire Safe Council has an Affiliate Manager who provides assistance for those interested in the creating a FSC.
For more information, contact Katie Ziemann at kziemann@cafiresafecouncil.org or (800) 372-2543
Becoming a Firewise Community
Firewise is a program emphasizing collaboration in order to protect people, property, and the environment from the risk of wildfires. Unlike the Fire Safe Council model, their program stretches nationwide, emphasizing the importance of community responsibility for planning and individual responsibility for preparing their home and property for fire. As of Spring 2010, there are more than 600 Firewise communities around the United States.
In California, many fire safe councils decide to try to become recognized firewise communities. This requires a multistep process involving steps to be taken by the community and individual actions homeowners may take. One such example isGrizzly Flats, which formed a FSC in 2004 and received Firewise Communities/USA recognition in 2007. For more about becoming a firewise community, download the firewise user guide (PDF).
Developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan
A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a plan developed by local stakeholders that may cover a community or group of communities. Some CWPPs in California cover areas as large as two counties. CWPPs incorporate the input of the public, appropriate local, state, and federal agencies, industry, government and other stakeholders.
CWPPs are created by communities for many reasons, but one of the best reasons for developing a CWPP is that it is an opportunity to get key stakeholders together to talk about issues that face your community. By creating a plan for reducing the threat of wildfires, CWPPs can have the impact of reducing fire risk, improving public safety (though reduced risk of fire and improved education), educating the public about the threat of fire and what they can do to mitigate the risk to themselves and their families.
In many cases, a completed CWPP is a prerequisite to applying for fuel reduction funding and grants, as well as leveraging other funding opportunities.
Additionally, the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 provided that communities that develop CWPPs should be prioritized in receiving grant funding, allowed to define the boundaries of the wildland-urban interface in their community, and be given a voice in guiding hazard reduction project placement by federal agencies in their area. There are a lot of great reasons to develop a CWPP, however, the process is often complicated and can be time-consuming.
How to do it? Many communities opt to hire outside consultants to help them with the collaborative process, finding consensus, and writing the actual plan. Firescaping offers consulting services from experienced local planners in select counties around the state. Please check out the services we offer (link to services page, collaborative process anchor point).
Outside of our organization, David Ganz of TSS Consultants has created several CWPPs, but by far the most experienced individual in the state is Tracy Katelman, proprieter of ForEverGreen Forestry. Katelman is a registered forester and has authored 5 separate California CWPPs.
For communities interested in undertaking the process themselves, Katelman has created a CWPP template (PDF), or another handbook is available here (PDF).
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