During the month of May, Ashland Fire & Rescue encourages you to prepare your yard’s landscaping to withstand embers and flames. We must all do this work to protect our homes and community!
Complete the checklist below, then visit fireadaptedashland.org to learn more about how you and your family can prepare wildfire.
Complete these 3 high priority actions first:
- Remove all bark mulch from the first 5 feet of your home, deck, and wooden fencing. Replace with noncombustible material like rock or compost.
- Remove all combustible leaf and needle debris and flammable vegetation from at least the first 5 feet of your home, deck, and fencing.
- Cut back weeds and grass to 4 inches tall before June 15th. This is required by Ashland’s Weed Abatement Ordinance.
After completing the top 3 actions above, complete these tasks:
- Clear dead branches, wood and dense flammable vegetation around your property, starting closest to the home and working your way out.
- Prune flammable trees a minimum of 8 feet above the ground, or 1/3 of the tree height, whichever is less. View spacing recommendations here.
- Make space between flammable shrubs. Space between shrubs should be 2x the height of the shrub at maturity.
- Relocate wood piles and other combustible material (e.g. cardboard, lumber) 30 feet from structures, and keep wood piles clear of leaf and needle debris. Consider covering wood piles with a fire resistant tarp.
After completing these tasks listed above, consider completing these actions if you have the budget:
- Prune branches of flammable trees 10 feet from the roof, decks, and chimney.
- If spacing allows, replace flammable vegetation with fire-resistant alternatives. View replacement recommendations at fireadaptedashland.org/
firewiseplants.
This is the second month of our Wildfire Safety Campaign. In June we will cover evacuation and in July we will give tips on preparing for smoke. Check back in at fireadaptedashland.org/
