Fire Safety Techniques for Trees and Plants in the SF Bay Area

With over 4 million acres burned, this year’s historic fire season has been truly terrifying, leading to 31 lives lost, countless forced evacuations and massive property losses. As smoke continues to linger in the air throughout the SF Bay area, this situation has brought the need for fire mitigation measures into stark focus. While preventing all future fires is impossible, essential tree maintenance techniques could offer your business or neighborhood grounds protection, potentially reducing the likelihood and severity of wildfire damage. What fire safety techniques for trees and plants will safeguard your commercial property against fire risk?

Commercial Landscape Management Fire Safety Tips

• Regularly remove dead materials and overgrowth
  Consistent property maintenance, including regularly pruning trees and shrubs that can provide fuel, is essential for preventing wildfires. Keep trees, bushes, and other landscaping well pruned. Clearing dead brush, grasses, leaves, and twigs is critical. Tree canopies should also be lifted at least 10-20 feet for protection against ground fires.
• Keep trees and plants healthy
  Dry trees are dying trees. Green, flourishing trees and plants are more likely to survive a fire than neglected, pest, or disease-ridden landscaping. Our tree wellness experts can help you detect trees that are diseased or dead, identifying unusual leaf loss, wounds, pests, fungus, and other diseases that point to the need for prompt attention.
• Trim back trees near buildings, ensuring adequate clearance
  Make sure all branches are at least 10 feet from your roof, at a minimum, removing any that overhang. Dense brush and low-hanging branches can serve as a ladder, allowing flames to climb to larger trees and nearby structures. Regularly clean your gutters and roofs, keeping them clear of flammable plant materials.
• Make defensible space part of your landscape design
  Fires need fuel to burn. Minimizing vegetation 30-70 feet surrounding buildings decreases the likelihood of flames transferring. A clear space also offers firefighters easier access, should your building catch ablaze. If your property is in a fire prone area, our certified consulting arborists can help you devise a landscaping plan that creates a defensible space.

Preventing the Spread of Fires is a Community Effort

Landscape design and maintenance, building materials and infrastructure, and accessibility, each play a role in the spread of fire. It is up to us to work together to protect each other. How can you help safeguard your community against wildfire risks?

Reduce fire risk with these and other fire safety techniques for trees and plants from Arborwell. Schedule a property evaluation or landscape maintenance for your Napa, Livermore, Danville, Dublin, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Morgan Hill, Fremont, or Pleasanton property. Contact us at today.