Firesafe Landscaping

Many people on the Central Coast are fortunate to live in areas where wildlands, native vegetation and cultivated gardens coexist. However, living in these areas also means learning to live with fire. A landscape can be designed to resist the spread of fire to homes and other buildings by creating a greenbelt known to firefighters as zones of "defensible space".

In Zone 1, within 5-10 feet of the house limit plantings to lawns, succulent ground covers and irrigated planting beds.

In Zone 2, out to 30 feet from the house, shrubs should be low growing, have a high moisture content and low fuel volume. Limit the use of flammable mulch. Trees should be widely spaced with understory shrubs no taller than 18" to prevent crown fires. Prune any trees back at least 10 feet from the roof of any building. Tall trees should have lower branches trimmed within 6 feet of the ground to eliminate ladder fuels.

The distance of Zone 3 could continue up to 400 feet depending on the slope of the land. This area might include natural and planted vegetation that is managed to thin out overcrowded native plants, eliminate ladder fuels and remove any dead plants or portions of plants that could spread fire. Avoid flammable trees such as eucalyptus, acacias, junipers and pines in areas of high fire danger.

Use fire resistant, drought tolerant plants that have high moisture content and plants that don't accumulate dead leaves or twigs. Healthy plants will burn less quickly. Regular maintenance is essential so prune and thin shrubs, trees and other plants to minimize fuel load and to clean up accumulating dead material. Drip irrigation can be used to conserve water and direct water only to the plants that are desired.

University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers can provide additional gardening information upon request .Call the San Luis Obispo office at 781-5939 on Mondays and Thursdays from 1 to 5 PM. You may also call the Paso Robles office at 237-3100 on Wednesdays from 9 AM to 12 PM. The San Luis Obispo Master Gardeners website is at http://groups.ucanr.org/slomg/. Questions can be e-mailed to: mgsanluisobispo@ucdavis.edu.