Defensible space refers to the area between a house and an oncoming wildland fire where the vegetation has been modified to reduce the wildland fire threat and provide an opportunity for firefighters to effectively defend the house. Sometimes, a defensible space is simply a homeowner’s properly maintained backyard.

Six steps exist in creating a defensible space.

1. Determine what an appropriate defensible space is. This may depend on slope, surrounding vegetation, local weather factors, and aspect. Contact the Fire Prevention Specialist for specific information on your needs.
2. Locate and remove all dead or dying vegetation within this defensible space.
3. Break up continuity within vegetative layers.
4. Remove ladder fuels. Ladder Fuels are fuels arranged in such a way that fire is easily carried from the ground to the tree crown through vertical continuity.
5. Create at least 30 feet of clearance around your structure.  Acceptable clearance is informally rated as lean, clean, and green. Lean clearance areas contain small amounts of flammable vegetation.  Clean clearance areas contain no accumulation of dead vegetation or other flammable debris.  Green clearance areas contain healthy plants that are green during the fire season.
6. Continued maintenance of vegetation within defensible space.