Editorial: Making your home more fire safe

The Greater Auburn Fire Safe Council is here to serve. We are volunteers who work with local fire resources and cover Bowman, the city of Auburn, Newcastle and Penryn. To contact us, email auburnfiresafecouncil@gmail.com. What follows is a bit of my journey in making my yard more fire safe. Hopefully, you will gain ideas of how to approach the same. I moved to Auburn 10 years ago. Everything was overgrown with lots of invasive species like privits, ivy, vinca, etc. You too can take these steps either on your own or by hiring help. Here was my process in the initial stages: ● Removed dead plants, branches and dried vegetation especially near the house. ● Trimmed bushes and trees so they weren't touching the house. ● Cut low-hanging tree branches 6-10 feet up from the ground. ● Vegetation on shrubs was removed from the bottom 9-12" to reduce the risk of igniting in a ground fire. ● Removed plants I didn't want by digging them out or cutting them down to the ground and then painting the stump with a stump killer (available at Green Acres). Over the years, I learned more about fire safety and took additional steps: ● Replaced mulch within 5 feet of the house with attractive rock. ● Removed shrubs right next to the house. ● Added decorative rocks and metal art next to the house. My Firewise Community hosted a session with expert speakers from UC Davis on how to manage your landscape for fire safety and "harden" your home to make it more protected. You can view the informative 50+ minute video at https://youtu.be/QPolNrMBPQ4. It includes great tips and insightful demonstrations of how fires progress. Every action you take reduces your risk from fire. You are protecting your property and reducing risk for your neighbors. And with cooler weather, now is a great time to get started. Please contact us if we can assist or if you are interested in starting a Firewise Community, auburnfiresafecouncil@gmail.com. If you live outside the Greater Auburn area, we can refer you to other resources. Jan Foster is a member of the Greater Auburn Area Fire Safe Council and a leader in her Firewise Community.