Firewise Landscaping


Title and Description

Firewise Landscaping

Home survival in wildfire prone areas depends on a combination of appropriate landscape design, adequate vegetation management in the area surrounding your home (i.e., your “defensible space”) and choices regarding building materials and design decisions for the home or building. Yvonne Barkley has been educating audiences about fire in the wildland/urban interface and firewise landscaping since 1995. JoAnne Skelly has been teaching “Firescaping – Landscape Design for Wildfire Defense” since 1999. This one-hour webinar will …

Selecting Firewise Plants

Firewise Plant Characteristics

Firewise plants have a number of characteristics in common, but also can vary considerably. Below are some important points about these plants and their management.

  • No plant is fireproof. All will burn in a very intense fire.
  • Firewise plants all have one or more of these firewise characteristics:
    • Tissues contain more moisture, especially during the fire season.
    • Tissues contain low amounts of volatile oils and other readily flammable chemicals.
    • Plants provide less fuel, either by producing less

Firescaping – Landscape Design for Wildfire Defensible/Survivable Space

Fire safety must be a major factor in landscape design when homes are built in wildfire-prone areas. Appropriate landscapes can make a significant contribution toward wildfire survival.

What Is Firescaping?

Firescaping is landscape design that reduces the vulnerability of your house and property to wildfire. The goal is to develop a landscape with a design and choice of plants that offer the best defensible, survivable space and enhance the property. The ideal is to surround the house with things that …