California wildfires wipe out hundreds of thousands of acres of land and destroy thousands of homes every year. Protecting your home and property from wildfire is your responsibility. Minimizing the devastating impact these natural disasters have on our community starts with responsible ladder fuels management around your home. 

At Vintage Tree Care, our goal is to provide you with expert tree management to help create a defensible space around your home and reduce the spread of wildfires through Sonoma County.

What is a Wildfire Defensible Space?

Creating a wildfire defensible space on your property means establishing buffer zones between your home and the surrounding landscape by practicing proper vegetation management. Maintaining this space on your property can help protect your home from fire damage, while also providing a safe zone for firefighters to slow or stop the spread of the wildfire. 

Read our previous blog “3 Ways to Create a Wildfire Defensible Space Around Your Home” to learn more about the two defensible space zones on your property.

In areas prone to wildfire such as Sonoma County, managing vegetation by removing ladder fuels is a fundamental part of creating a defensible space around your home.

What are Ladder Fuels?

Ladder fuels are various forms of vegetation that would allow a low-burning fire to vertically climb up from the ground and into a tree canopy. Examples of common ladder fuels include both living and dead vegetation such as shrubs, tall grass, low hanging branches, and much more. Managing the ladder fuels on your property is an essential step to creating a defensible space around your Sonoma County home. 

Ways to Manage Ladder Fuels on Your Property to Create a Wildfire Defensible Space

To ensure your safety and limit the spread of potential wildfire, it is important to know how to recognize and manage ladder fuels growing on your property. 

Regularly Prune the Trees on Your Property

Low hanging branches can be potential fuel ladders that allow wildfires to vertically jump higher into tree canopies. If trees are properly pruned, low-burning flames will have less fuel, and the overall growth of a wildfire will be deterred. The level of pruning required to minimize the damage of a wildfire is determined by the size of the tree, as well as the surrounding landscape. 

Our certified arborists at Vintage Tree Care always take into consideration the height and spacing of other vegetation on your property when pruning your trees.

Create Fuel Breaks with Proper Vegetation Management

A fuel break is horizontal spacing between vegetation such as grasses, bushes, or other flammable materials. In order to reduce the risk of fire, the vegetation and ladder fuels are removed, leaving nothing to be burned. Creating these breaks around your property will act as a deterrent to slow down the spread of potential wildfire. 

Manage Non-Vegetation Fuel Sources Around Your Property

When creating a wildfire defensible space around your home, it is important to consider all non-vegetation fuel sources as well. Patio furniture, play equipment, or other flammable outdoor items can also act as ladder fuels and should always be placed at least ten feet apart from each other. Wood piles should be stored at a minimum of thirty feet away from any structure, building, or tree on your property.

Minimize Fire Risk by Working with the Professionals at Vintage Tree Care

For over 14 years Vintage Tree Care has been providing Sonoma County home and business owners with expert tree care. As leaders in the Sonoma County tree care industry, we understand the importance of proper wildfire fuel management to ensure the safety of our community. 

Contact our team today for a property risk assessment or to request an Estimate. Our skilled arborists are here to help ensure the health of your trees and the safety of your Sonoma County property for years to come.