Each year, some 66,000 wildfires burn up woodlands and wild areas in the United States. If you enjoy the tranquility and beauty of a home in the wildlands, you also face the risk that a wildfire will destroy it.

You can't eliminate the risk entirely. But there's a lot you can do to reduce it. Your gardens and landscaping form your first line of defense.

How Fire Spreads
You learned in grade school that fire needs three things to burn: heat, fuel and oxygen. In a wildfire, the heat starts with a spark or a match or perhaps lightning. Wind drives oxygen to the fire. The woods and your home are the fuel.

Fire likes to burn uphill. That's because hot gases from combustion rise, preheating the area. Winds come from behind to push the fire upward.

Winds can pick up hot embers and blow them for as much as 1,500 meters or close to a mile to start new fires. Your home can burn if an ember falls on a flammable roof or in the dead leaves and pine needles that lie beneath your deck or clog your rain gutters.

If a fire gets near your home, the heat can burn wood siding and shingles, or break a window and ignite your curtains.

Your Defense Zones
You can't do much to get rid of oxygen or heat in the event of a wildfire. But you can get rid of fuel. That's how you make your garden defend your home, by designing it to eliminate fuel.

Your first step is to mark off some defense zones. The most important fuel to remove is located near the house in an area that stretches outward about 30 feet or roughly ten meters from it. We call this area the First Zone of Defense. After that, you need to reduce the fuel in the Second Zone of Defense out to about 100 feet or 30 meters from the house.

Start by getting some stakes or some sprinkler markers--available at your hardware or home improvement store--and a 100 foot measuring tape. Walk around your home and put a marker close to the wall every ten feet (three meters) or so. From each of those stakes, measure straight out from the house for thirty feet (ten meters) and put in a marker. Measure again to 100 feet or thirty meters from the house. Put in another marker. Do this from each of the markers that's near the house. On the downhill side of the house, it's a good idea to go 200 feet or 60 meters. If you've got a steep downhill side, call your local fire department and ask them to look things over. (But don't wait for them to come before you start working.)

If you truly live in a wild area, you'll find that dead trees and all sorts of underbrush will hinder your progress as you measure and stake out your zones. It's the same dead stuff that fuels a wildfire. Getting rid of it makes your yard more accessible at the same time it protects you.

Gardening in the First Zone
The First Zone of Defense, which stretches out to thirty feet or ten meters beyond your home, is your primary defense against wildfire. Your goal is to get rid of fuel within that zone. This doesn't mean you can't have trees or shrubs or flowers. It does mean you should select what you use and where you use it carefully.

Start by sweeping out the accumulated dead leaves and needles from rain gutters, under decks, and any place else they've collected. You have to do this at least once a year and perhaps more often so write it in your day planner or your handheld.

Next, systematically render the landscape in this zone unburnable. One effective and elegant way is to turn it into rock courtyards surrounded by rock walls. Use planters spaced ten or fifteen feet (three to five meters) apart for a few trees and shrubs. Make sure that branches don't hang over your roof or near your chimney. Plant creeping thyme in the cracks between rocks to make a soft carpet and attract butterflies. Build a pond or fountain to add moisture as well as soothing beauty. Planning your courtyards will give you a lot of pleasure. They will add prestige and value to your home.

You can lay sod or plant lawns in the First Zone. But if you live in an arid place you'll likely not want to waste the water. Where water is not an issue, keep the lawns well trimmed and watered so that dry grass doesn't feed a fire.

Finally, use plants that don't burn easily. Plants that hold a lot of water retard fire. See the "Important Links" on this page for a list of plants that are generally considered fire resistant. There's also a list of plants to avoid because they're intensely flammable. Unfortunately, some of the most flammable plants are the ones we love the most. But which is more difficult, to lose those trees and shrubs or to lose the entire home?

Gardening in the Second Zone
From the edge of the First Zone to the boundary of the second one, you can keep most of the natural materials including the flammable ones. But you want to clear out the dead wood and scrub that will fuel a fire. Start from the downhill side of the house if there is one. Then work around the sides and up the hill. Again, you have to do this every year or fuel will build up.

Thin the trees so they are ten to fifteen feet (three to five meters) apart. Cut down any branches that are lower than fifteen feet (five meters) from the ground.

You're going to collect a lot of rubbish as you clear out your defense zones. So before you start, call your fire department to ask if they have a truck with a large mulcher on it to grind up the debris you collect. You can use the mulch on your flowerbeds and paths. If they don't have one, you may be able to rent one. Otherwise, you may have to rent a dumpster to haul away all the trash.

Securing the House
There are things to do to make your house itself less flammable. Use a fire-retardant roof, such as one made of metal, concrete, or tile. Keep the roof free of pine needles and leaves. Use double-pane windows. Use a spark arrester on your chimney. (Your fire department will have drawings.) Treat wood siding with fire retardant chemicals. Use fire-retardant drapes. And most importantly, make sure your smoke alarms are operational because they will give you extra seconds in which to get out of the house.

If there is a fire, it helps to have your address clearly marked at the entrance to your driveway. Fire fighters frequently complain because they can't find the address of a fire. Keep the driveway from twelve to fifteen feet (four to five meters) wide so that trucks can get up it.

Finally, pack a backpack with two liters of water, three days worth of food, a change of clothes, a sleeping bag and some spare cash for each person. You can toss it in the trunk of your car or wear it on the hike out if you have to evacuate. Have more water handy to take with if you can drive out.

The Best Garden Defense...
If may seem like a lot of work to make your home in the wildlands safer from fire. You're right, it is. It's also a pleasurable activity that gets your mind off the day's stresses and pays you back with health-stimulating exercise. If you just can't stand to do it yourself, you can always hire someone else. Either way, you'll sleep better knowing your gardens are defending you from wildfires and are more beautiful, too. The main thing is to take the offensive and get it done before the next wildfire.