Your Backyard Forest - Protect Your Property From Wildfire

Items that can easily catch fire should be stored at least 30 feet away from any structure, including wooden fences and outbuildings. Some items to consider are these:

• Fuel (leaves, twigs, dry grass, garden waste) • Firewood • Oil and or propane tanks • Brush and slash (tree limbs, branches) • Gasoline • Paints and solvents

Brush and limbs should be hauled to local refuse recycle centers or dispersed outside your safety zone.
Many common plants naturally resist fire and can help keep fire from spreading. Generally, well-watered green plants will burn slowly. Certain types of plants have low oil and resin content or produce less litter and will burn slowly. Examples of fire-resistant ground covers are these:

• Bugleweed (Ajuga) • Lilly of the valley (Convallaria) • Japanese spurge (Pachysandra) • Spotted lungwort (Pulmonaria) • Stonecrop (Sedum)

Examples of fire resistant shrubbery are these:

• Native bearberry (Arctostaphylos)
• Bearberry (Cotoneaster)
• Lilac (Syringa)

For more information on Firewise landscaping, visit the National Fire Protection Association Firewise Web site: http://www.firewise.org