We are very fortunate to have a provincial FireSmart program. In association with FireWise in the U.S. and FireSmart Canada, the FireSmart B.C. program launched last year, and its goal is to educate all British Columbians about making informed decisions regarding their landscape choices in order to make their homes and properties more fire safe.
FireSmart B.C. has produced an excellent landscaping guide, available from certain garden centres who are participating in the program. This information is also available from the FireSmart website:If you live in a higher risk wildfire area, this guide is highly relevant.
Well-maintained lawns can also create a fire-resistant fuel break. Deep watering, once or twice a week, depending on your soil, will keep your lawn hydrated and green, and mowing shorter will allow your lawn to waste less water during nighttime transpiration. The adding of white Dutch clover will also help keep your lawn greener, requiring less water.Article content
For larger yards, with areas 10-to-30 m beyond your home, the canopies of any good-sized trees should be at least four metres apart. All trees should be pruned on a regular basis to ensure there is no dead wood left on the trees; dead wood is, of course, far more flammable. It’s also very important to prune spreading branches away from your house.Article content