Fire Hazard Reduction How To Protect Your Land
Steps To Reduce Fire Hazards On Your Land
How and what you do around your house and property depends upon what you have to start with. If you have larger trees (12” diameter & larger at 4 ½ ft above ground), you will probably need the help of a forester and a logger to achieve the thinned forest stand you need for protection against wildfire.
If you have a forest that has trees of varying diameters and brush, you may be able to accomplish at least some of the work yourself. Let’s not ignore the fact that this IS hard work. But even if you hire someone to do the work, you need to know what the desired end result is.
Let’s start with a radius of 100 feet from all your structures:
- Smaller trees can be spaced closer than larger trees. Trees/saplings that are from 1” to 3” in diameter can be thinned to have a residual spacing of 15 to 20 feet. Trees that are 4” to 10” in diameter should be thinned so that there is at least 15 feet of space between their live crowns.
- All trees left after thinning must be pruned of their lower branches. Again, smaller trees are treated differently than larger trees. A tree will continue to grow well if its live crown is no less than 33% of its total height. So, if a 12 foot tall cedar sapling is pruned to leave 4 feet of live crown, the tree will continue to be healthy. Larger trees (12” diameter & >) should be pruned to at least 12 feet above the ground.
- All brush should be removed from under your trees within 100 feet of the structures.
- Disposal of the brush and thinned trees can be achieved by piling and burning or by renting a chipper.
From 100 feet to 300 feet from your structures:
- Tree spacing can be closer than the primary area close to your house, but for forest health objectives, trees are just like tomatoes – if they are grown too close together they will not thrive. So, using what we foresters call the D+8 rule, find the best looking trees in any diameter class and figure that the diameter at 4 ½ feet (pretending that the diameter is in feet) plus 8 feet is the residual spacing you want to the next tree. For example, a 16” diameter tree would have 16 feet plus 8 feet, or 24 feet of space to the next tree.
- Ideally, the brush and small trees in what we foresters call the “understory” would also be thinned or totally removed. Leaving islands of brush for wildlife habitat and forage is okay, but the brush should not be a thick contiguous area. And don’t leave brush and small flammable trees under the crowns of the larger trees. That’s what causes fires to climb into the crowns of the forest.
If you have 5 acres or more of forest land, you could qualify for a grant that would cover 50-75% of the cost of doing this kind of work. Calling a forester to help you apply for such a grant can move you forward in protecting your property.
If you’d like some more information please fill out our free consultation form and I’ll be happy to help you.
Tags :
- Fire Hazard, Forest Land Owner
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About Steve Cannon
Steve Cannon is a Registered Forester in California. He owns a 138 acre tree farm, and is the Director of the Amador Resource Conservation District. He has authored over 30 published essays on environmental issues. When he’s not out working for landowners, he spends time with his 2 daughters, and you can also see him performing at the Volcano Theatre Company.