FORESTRY DEPARTMENT

Defensible Space Around Your Home: Getting Ready for Fire Season

With the upcoming wildfire season upon us, it’s important to make sure your home is as safe as possible. Last year’s catastrophic McBride Fire was unprecedented, taking two lives and destroying 200 homes.

The best way to prepare for the wildfire season is to work on the defensible space in and around your home. Defensible space is what the fire service consider the buffer between a home and wildland vegetation. This space is often the reason why a house is able to survive a wildfire event and is important because it reduces the chance of embers from a nearby fire catching the home on fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, “embers are burning pieces of airborne wood and/or vegetation that can be carried more than a mile through the wind and can cause spot fires and ignite homes, debris, and other objects”.

To prevent this, thus ensuring your home is as safe as possible during a wildfire, the Ruidoso Fire Department offers the following advice:

» Homes should be clear for 30 feet of all dead vegetation, including pine needles, leaves, and firewood piles.

» Trees in the “30-foot zone” should be thinned to minimal numbers, trimmed up high, and dead trees should be removed.

» Grass and other ground vegetation should be mowed regularly.

» Railroad ties, firewood, and other combustible items that butt up against a house should be removed as fire often travels through them, and they are difficult to extinguish.

The Ruidoso Fire Department encourages you to walk a 100-foot radius around your property to survey if there is anything that could contribute to losing your home in a wildfire.

More information regarding fire safety around the home during a wildfire is available at https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Firewise-USA. If you would like the fire department to survey your home, please contact the Fire Marshall at 575-257-3473.