Reducing the wildfire risk around your farm or acreage

FireSmart is a program that gives you information and recommendations on how to reduce the risk of a wildfire damaging your home or other buildings. The FireSmart program is supported by many community fire departments as an education and prevention tool for fire prevention/damage reduction.

For example, the Vulcan County Protective Services department has summarized some key aspects of wildfire risk reduction into the following checklist. To minimize the risk to your home and property, follow these best practices:

• Keep your lawn mowed as short as possible at least 5 ft (1.5 m) from your home and around all other buildings.
• Reduce the amount of brush and trees close to your home, choose wildfire-resistant plants whenever possible, and space them out.
• Clear all combustible material, including wood piles, away from your home. Keep these materials no closer than 30 ft (10 m) from your home and other buildings.
• Clear and maintain your eavestrough and roof regularly. Remove debris like dry leaves and twigs to prevent sparks from catching.
• Trim the low branches of trees to a height of 6 ft (2 m) from the ground to help reduce the risk of your trees igniting.