A Guide to Protecting Your Home from WildfireTwo types of wildfires – surface and crown fires – can affect homes.Surface fires burn materials laying on or immediately above the ground, including
pine needles, leaves, grass, downed logs, stumps, tree limbs and low shrubs. This type of wildfire can surround a home and slowly find vulnerable spots to ignite.
Landscaping to Protect Your HomeMoving farther away from the house, landscape trees, shrubs and plants should be managed to ensure that any fire in this area
remains on the ground and burns quickly (i.e. no smoldering) and with low intensity. That means keeping the lawn clean of fallen
pine needles and leaves. All vegetation should be well manicured, green, and healthy.
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Take care to arrange landscape plants so they are well spaced to prevent fire from moving from one plant to the next. Try to maintain a space of at least 30 feet between the branches of adjacent trees and shrubs. Avoid planting directly beneath trees, because plants burning in a surface fire might then spread the fire to the tops (crowns) of the trees.
Fire burning in the crowns of trees, especially pines, can move rapidly and quickly become very intense.
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In some cases, however, the HIZ should be maintained out to 200 feet. This is true for homes built in areas surrounded by steep topography, or if the trees on and around the property are mostly pines.
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Pine TreesIn the Great Lakes region, red pine and jack pine
are the most flammable tree species and are known to carry burning embers up to a mile ahead of the fire front. If your home is surrounded by a pine forest or is built in the middle of a pine plantation, thin the trees and keep them pruned and free of dead wood out to 200 feet from your home. Remove any dead standing trees. These trees can turn into “chimneys,” spewing hot firebrands (e.g. burning pine cones or leaves) high into the air. A home fire is possible if firebrands land on areas where leaves, pine needles, or other debris can accumulate. These areas include roofs, rain gutters, under a deck, or along the house foundation.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/forestmanageme ... FR-417.pdf