Pennsylvania Forest Fire Protection: Wildland Urban Interface Month

April is wildland urban interface (WUI) month, during the month we would like to take the time to help create and sustain a fire-adapted community that may lie within the WUI.

First, let’s discuss just what the WUI is. The wildland urban interface is an area where human-made structures and infrastructures (cell towers, water supply facilities, etc.) are in or next to areas prone to wildfire. Some people may think that we don’t have a WUI problem here in PA or that WUI fires only occur in the western states…but let’s throw some statistics out there:

· More than 46 million residences in 70,000 communities in the US are at risk for WUI fires (U.S. Department of Homeland Security).

· The WUI area continues to grow by approximately two million acres per year (U.S. Department of Homeland Security).

· States with the greatest number of houses in the WUI (U.S. Forest Service):

1. California

2. Texas

3. Florida

4. North Carolina

5. Pennsylvania

This week we would like to focus on helping you create what’s called defensible space. A defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation, debris and other types of combustible fuels have been treated, cleared, or reduced to slow the spread of fire to and from the building. You can determine the Fire Severity Zone of an area by looking at simple factors like local vegetation, weather, and topography, knowing your fire severity zone will help determine the most effective design of your defensible space.

A defensible space is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect a building from a wildfire – and often can be created by the landowner themselves.

The simplest things you can do are trim branches that overhang your home, porch, and deck. Keep plants, trees, and branches at least 5 feet from your home.

You should also clear leaves and branches from roofs, gutters, porches, and decks. Remove dead plants, leaves, and branches at least 10 feet from your home.

Landscape vegetation can be just as combustible as wildland vegetation (grass, brush, and timber). If you are concerned about whether your plants are combustible, there are several characteristics that combustible vegetation has:

· Volatile resins and oils (generally aromatic when crushed)

· Narrow leaves or long thin needles

· Waxy or fuzzy leaves

· Accumulation of dead leaves or twigs on or under the plant (I clean out my yucca plants every year because they accumulate all these things naturally)

· Loose or papery bark

General guidance for creating your defensible space is that you assess both the horizontal and vertical aspects of vegetation – to prevent horizontal spread of wildfire thin shrubs and trees so the crowns do not intersect and there is space between the individual shrubs/trees; for vertical spread prevention keep the lowest tree branches pruned and trimmed to maintain vertical separation from tops of shrubs and grass to the lowest tree branches.

There are three concentric zones around a building: Zone 1 will require the most need for fuel modification, and is within 30 feet of the home, Zone 2 is from 30-100 feet from the home – ideally, you should keep your woodpiles within this zone., and Zone 3 is anything further than 100 feet from your home. If you are in a higher Fire Severity Zone your circles should be larger – consult your local or the state fire agency for assistance in determining this.

Some final thoughts you should consider are consulting local or state fire agencies or a qualified fire management specialist about codes, requirements and standards related to defensible space; as well as planting low-maintenance plants when sprucing up your landscape:

· Drought-resistant

· Pest-resistant

· Native to the area

· Noninvasive

· Slow-growing

· Wind-resistant

· Sustainable without supplemental fertilization

Keep in mind that vegetation modification must be performed in compliance with local, state, and federal environmental regulations.