UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

458 Highway 98 North

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail:  dfculbert@ifas.ufl.edu

 Quick Links:  KBDI Index   Determine your risk   Wildfire Protection Tips     References                                            February 1, 2006

Feature Article - for release the week of February 5, 2006

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

Defending your home against Wildfire

While Floridians have had more than their fair share of natural disasters in the past few years, we may be sitting on another time bomb just waiting to be lit.  In many rural areas, damaged trees and dried vegetation from tropical storms are still sitting on the ground.  Add to it frost-damaged leaves and a seasonal dry period, and then flick a cigarette or electrical spark, and the flames can be off and running in no time. 

It’s time to take a careful look at your landscaping and the areas around your Florida Yard and get prepared for the possibility of wildfires knocking at your door.  Today’s column is adapted from a University of Florida Extension bulletin by Drs. Martha Monroe and Alan Long.

Do you remember the hurricane intensity scale?  Well there is another number that tell us our wildfire danger, called the Keetch-Byram Drought Index.  It is a number between 0 and 800 that gives forecasters a clue as to how dry it is; 800 means desert-like conditions.  On January 31, the average KBDI for Okeechobee County was 464, while the driest spot in Florida on that date was 590 in Hendry County.  For current KBDI ratings, you can go to the Division of Forestry website: http://www.fl-dof.com/fire_weather/KBDI/

Determine Your Risk

Two factors add up to wildfire risk: how the land is used in your area, and the kind of vegetation around your home.   If you live in a subdivision surrounded by homes and lawns, or in an urban area, it is unlikely that a wildfire would reach your house. However, a few years ago, homes in Port St. Lucie were threatened with wildfires.  With more homes springing up in rural areas, if you have undeveloped or wooded land near your home, you could be at some risk in the event of a wildfire. For many property owners, it is worth your time to conduct a wildfire risk assessment.

Walk around outside your home and look carefully at the nearby land.  The type, size, and density of the plants determine wildfire risk. Some places may have characteristics of more than one category. Use the following criteria to assess your risk:

You Are at Low Risk if You See...
  • Bare ground, improved pasture, or widely spaced grassy clumps or plants.
  • Moist forest, mostly leafy trees, or mostly large trees.
  • Few plants growing low to the ground.
  • Oak leaves or other broad leaves covering the ground
You Are at Medium Risk if You See...

§         Thick, continuous grasses, weeds, or shrubs.

§         Continuous thin layer of pine needles and scattered pine trees.

§         Scattered palmettos or shrubs up to 3 feet tall separated by patches of grass or sand.

§         A clear view into or across the undeveloped area.
You Live in a High Risk, Fire-Prone Area if You See...
  • A thick bed of pine needles and lots of pine trees.
  • Continuous palmettos, shrubs, or sawgrass more than 3 feet tall.
  • Vines and small-to-medium trees or palms beneath taller pine trees.
  • Impenetrable shrubs or young pines.
  • No clear view into the undeveloped area because of dense growth.

Wildfire Protection for Florida Yards

Make it easy for fire trucks to get to your house. Clearly label your street name and house number with metal signs and posts. Make sure the driveway has a 16-foot clearance of vegetation, and create a 30-foot-wide space around your home for fire trucks to maneuver.

Access for emergency vehicles is only part of the story: high risk homes need to make and keep an area called a defensible space.  Defensible space extends outward from the home from a minimum of 30 feet to zone 100 - 200 feet wide in a high risk area. This area does not mean clearing out all shrubs and trees.  Instead, landscape with less-flammable plants and separate them with walkways and grassed areas.  Here’s what a defensible space looks like:

  1. Trim lower branches up to 10 feet on tall trees, remove vines from trees, and keep shrubbery away from pine trees so that a fire on the ground cannot climb up these “fuel ladders” to the treetops.  (Dead Air potato vines and Old world climbing fern makes dangerous fuel ladders.)
  2. Landscape your defensible space to make it difficult for fire to spread to your house. Use shrub islands or patches of perennials rather than continuous beds of plantings. Thin trees so branches do not touch each other.
  3. Keep combustible wood and compost piles, gas cans and grills, and propane tanks at least 30 feet away from your house. Clear away dead vegetation, pine needles, and branches.
  4. Use mowed grass, gravel walkways, and mulched plantings near your home. Although mulch helps retain soil moisture, it must be kept moist or it can burn too. Do not use thick combustible mulch beside your home's foundation.
  5. Keep large, leafy, hardwood trees in your yard, particularly on the east and west sides of your house. Their shade cools your house, and the flat leaves trap moisture on the ground. Large pine trees also provide good shade. Trim lower branches and rake up pine needles.
  6. Remove flammable plants like saw palmetto, wax myrtle, yaupon holly, red cedar, and gallberry within 30 feet of your home. These shrubs are better kept farther from your home and in natural areas that are regularly thinned or managed with controlled burns.  They contain resins, oils, and waxes that burn readily. Some plants that are not as flammable include vibrurnum, sycamore, magnolia, beautyberry, oaks, red maple,   sweetgum, coontie, winged elm, persimmon, sugarberry, or ferns.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on landscaping with fire in mind, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 5 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  

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Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean Last update: 02/01/2006 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert Hit Counter

References

Culbert, Daniel F.  Is your Florida Yard Fire proof?  Okeechobee: UF/IFAS Extension Service, 4/7/04. http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News%20columns/Fire%20Proof%20Yard.htm 

FDACS Division of Forestry.  Firewise Communities: Protecting Your Home from Wildfire (website) January, 2006. http://www.fl-dof.com/wildfire/fire_mitigation_index.html 

Monroe, Martha and Long, Alan.  Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind. (FOR 71).  Gainesville:  UF/IFAS Extension Service,  January 2001. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FR076

Watkins, Theresa.  Designing Your Florida Yard / Protecting Your Home.  Orlando:  Central Florida FYN website, January 2006.  http://cfyn.ifas.ufl.edu/basictips.html