Is Your Home and Landscape Susceptible to Wildfires?

Risk assessment:

Your home is one of your largest financial investments. Have you ever done a risk assessment to determine how affected our home or landscape would be if a wildfire was nearby? Florida is prone to lightning strikes which can easily start fires. Did you know wind can carry flaming embers a mile or more from a fire and start new fires? Additionally, many homeowners don’t take the necessary precautions when burning piles at home. I know of two gentlemen who shared frightening stories of their burn piles getting out of control.

Safe burning techniques include:

Keep burn piles 50 feet from public roads
Stay 25 feet from woodlands
Be sure burn pile is 25 feet from the house and other structures
Keep burn piles smaller than eight feet in diameter
Burn piles over eight feet in diameter require authorization from the Division of Forestry, and suppression equipment needs to be on hand

A few things to think about to make your home and landscape firewise:

Make sure your address is visible from two directions and the house numbers are at least four inches in height.
Make sure the fire department or Division of Forestry has access to a locked gate.
Keep pine straw at least 30 feet from your house and other structures.
Avoid planting highly flammable plants (contain volatile oils) like wax myrtle, holly, gallberry near your house.
Prune tree limbs six to ten feet from the ground.
Avoid storing gas cans in garages or under decks.

For more information go to:

https://fireinflorida.ifas.ufl.edu/landscaping.html

You can also contact us for a free publication and check list on which shrubs and trees are most flammable. Email Michelle: drummond.m@ufl.edu or stop by our office at: 1302 11th Street SW in Live Oak for a copy. We are offering a free Firewise class on Tuesday, March 8th at the UF/IFAS Extension office , an Equal Opportunity Institution. In North Florida our fire season is quickly approaching, so take action now. Sign up: https://is_your_home_firewise.eventbrite.com or by calling (386) 362-2771 and asking for Michelle.