Why It Burns, How It Burns: Ember Attack and Home Hardening
The Spark: Wildfire Preparedness Is Year-Round
Why It Burns, How It Burns: Ember Attack and Home Hardening
The Spark: Wildfire Preparedness is Year Round
When a wildfire is burning, a lot of things are out of your control. This month's edition of The Spark bulletin goes over the actions you can control: protecting your home from igniting. Read The Spark and share it around!
Sometimes, big things come in small packages: Embers are the leading cause of ignition and responsible for 80% of homes lost during wildfire. Embers are small airborne pieces of burning vegetation that can fly over a mile ahead of a wildfire and embed in leaf litter, shrubs, vents, decks, or uncapped roof ridges.
Protecting your home largely comes down to factors you can control. Small changes around your property can have huge impacts. Creating a buffer zone doubles the likelihood that your home will survive a wildfire, a 2021 study showed.
That buffer, called the Home Ignition Zone, is the 100-foot radius around your home where nearly all ignition potential falls into two categories: building materials and the surrounding vegetation.
Home hardening methods like capping roof openings, checking for proper ventilation screening, and swapping combustible building materials for fire-retardant ones can prevent embers from igniting decks, fences, or furniture. Clearing your gutters every spring is a great first step.
The 0-5 foot zone around the walls of your home is the single most important area to clear of any vegetation or flammable material. This means clearing pine duff and mulch and removing grasses, shrubs, and trees.
In the 20-100 foot area of your yard, reducing ignition risk comes down to common yard work. This doesn’t mean stripping this broader area completely: You can keep grasses mowed, limb up trees 6 to 10 feet off the ground, and keep firewood piles away from any structures.
Remember, no home is an island: Talk to your neighbors about hardening their homes and consider becoming a certified Firewise USA community. The IBHS Wildfire Prepared Homes Program is another avenue for a defensible space certificate to share with your insurance agent. If you’d like an expert’s eyes, reach out to your local fire department for a fire-risk overview.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ember attack is responsible for 80% of homes that burn in a wildfire.
Embers can be as big as a fist and can travel up over a mile ahead of a fire’s front.
Jack Cohen and other scientists’ research led to our understanding of ember wash and home ignition.
HARDEN YOUR HOME
Clean roofs and gutters of debris
Repair loose or missing shingles
Cover vents with 1/8-inch screening
Move flammable materials from exterior walls: mulch, plants, firewood piles, even trash cans. Remove anything stored under decks/porches.
Screen or box-in areas below patios/decks to prevent embers from accumulating
Embers igniting vegetation in the 0-5 foot zone.
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The Spark: Wildfire Preparedness is Year Round is a joint production of the Forest Stewards Guild , Bureau of Land Management - New Mexico , New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute , New Mexico Forestry Division and Fire Adapted NM Learning Network. Learn more and read past issues at facnm.org .
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The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department - Forestry Division retains lead responsibility for wildland fire management on all non-federal, non-Tribal, and non-municipal lands. The Division promotes healthy, sustainable forests and watersheds in New Mexico for the benefit of current and future generations.
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