Reducing Wildfire Risk on Your Property

CAL FIRE Forecasting High Fire Risk in 2024

Our region has been fortunate to have relatively mild fire seasons these past couple summers. Thankfully, persistent smoke hasn't kept us holed up inside and many of us haven't received recent orders to evacuate.

However, we may not be so lucky this year. CAL FIRE is forecasting that 2024 may very well be a longer, more intense fire season compared to the past three years. This is due in combination to the wet winter and spring which produced more fuel to burn. This coupled with early, hot weather in June and July has set us up for “an abnormally high fire risk for the remainder of the year” per CAL FIRE’s 2024 Fire Year Outlook.

At the time of this writing, 248,972 acres have burned in California this year alone. This begs the question, “Is your defensible space adequate?” Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Reducing Wildfire Risk on Your Property

Experts recommend working out from your home, starting with Zone 0, the first 0-5 feet from your structure. Do you have dry material accumulating next to your foundation, such as dead leaves, pine needles, and pine cones, etc. ? Do you have firewood near your entryway, or vegetative fuel gathering under your deck? These days much focus and attention are being placed on hardening the immediate 5 feet from the home by replacing plants with non-combustible material like a concrete sidewalk or a rock garden bed. Gone are the days of installing new landscaping or decorative trellises directly next to the home. If vegetation is located within this zone, it is recommended that it be well-irrigated, low to the ground, and free from dead material that could be ignited by a traveling ember. Once you’ve addressed the perimeter of your home on the ground, work upward. Are there trees overhanging or touching your roof? Is your roof clear of pine needles? When was the last time your gutters were cleared? 

Graphic borrowed from CAL FIRE Zone 0 workshop

Next is Zone 1, which covers the area between 5-30 feet from your home. In this area, you’ll want to remove all dead material from the ground and consider the spacing between bushes and trees. All trees should be limbed up with a recommended 10 feet of spacing between tree crowns. Zone 3 covers the subsequent area from 30-100 feet around your home or other structures on your property. In this region, the focus is on reducing additional combustible material. This means increasing vertical and horizontal space between bushes, shrubs, hedges, and trees; keeping lawns mowed; as well dead material raked and removed. 

Defensible space doesn’t just apply to our homes, it also applies to our roads. It’s vital to maintain the vegetation along driveways and routes of egress. This includes mowing tall grasses, limbing up trees, and removing excessive vegetation such as dense juvenile trees which act as ladder fuels to nearby tree canopies. This not only helps you and your neighbors evacuate in the event of a fire, but helps first responders by providing safer access to defend your home.

Need assistance bringing your home into compliance with CAL FIRE, your HOA, the local fire department, or your fire insurance provider? Our team is well versed in improving defensible space and is available to assist! Let us know at the button above.

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Property Visit - Reducing Wildfire Risk on Your Property

Local Resources for Emergency Preparedness

The County of Nevada Office of Emergency Services (OES) recently mailed their Ready, Set, Go Handbook which is a fantastic guide to emergency preparedness. This joint effort by OES, the Cities of Grass Valley and Nevada City, the Town of Truckee, and CAL FIRE contains a wealth of information. Check it out for a refresher on what to pack in your go bag, how to register for critical emergency alerts, how to identify which evacuation zone you live in, and much more!

Help! My Trees Look Sick

Two YFR workers aloft removing some ponderosa pines in a stand that suffered a bark beetle infestation. Can you spot them both?

We assess a lot of trees. Much of the time the issue is simply planting the wrong tree for the site conditions. We often use the expression, “right tree, right place”. To save headaches down the road, spend time evaluating your planting site beforehand. Get to know what a tree will need, and what your property will provide in terms of climate, soil moisture levels, supplemental irrigation, and sun exposure.

Generally, ornamental trees are less tolerant of drought conditions, but some are more drought tolerant than others. It’s important to consider the moisture requirements of a tree before you put one in the ground. It is OK to plant a tree that needs supplemental water, you just have to be prepared to provide it!

Another thing to consider is sun exposure. For example, trees that prefer shade, when planted in a sunny spot, will be stressed even with adequate moisture. This is often the case with dogwoods. They prefer shade and water; rarely will they thrive in a yard that has no shade whatsoever.

Blessed Are Those Who Plant Trees Under Whose Shade They Will Never Sit

One other thing we are beginning to consider as we plant trees is preparing for a warmer climate. We planted a valley oak on our property last year in Cedar Ridge around 2800’. A bit higher than its typical elevation, but it is thriving in the heat! Since valley oaks tend to be pretty spready, we will prune it to have a slightly more upright form to strengthen it for the severe winters we have been seeing.

A few water-wise trees that do great in this area:

On the smaller side: western redbud, strawberry tree, loquat

Medium: Chinese pistache

Larger: western sycamore, deodar cedar, giant sequoia, and valley oak

Bark Beetles

We have seen a good deal of tree mortality in the region due to bark beetles. Most of the infestation is in ponderosa pine trees by the western pine beetle. Healthy trees are usually not susceptible, but drought stressed trees have a harder time producing the pitch needed to prevent a successful attack. In addition, milder winters have allowed the beetles to overwinter with more success, increasing their population. If you see a lot of woodpecker activity around your pines, its likely they are snacking on beetles!

What can you do?

• Thin overly dense stands to increase available moisture to remaining stems. This is best done in winter.

• Avoid pruning when the beetle is active, April-November.

• Sparingly provide supplemental irrigation in the hottest months, if feasible. Deep waterings 1-2x/month across entire root zone.

• Pheromone repellants are available for high-value pine trees or stands. Online research gives varied opinions, but our forester friends swear by them!

• If a tree shows signs of decline, remove ASAP to reduce the likelihood of spread. Chip and haul all material. If that is not feasible, pile slash away from trees in a sunny area and cover logs with clear plastic.

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Property Visit - Help! My Trees Look Sick

Maintaining Tree Health in the Summer

Well, it sure feels like summer out there. The solstice has come and gone, and we are on the heel of a heatwave that has set records across the West. It’s pretty early to see temperatures this high for such a duration, so fingers crossed we get a good bit of relief here soon.

Shout out to our team! They have been doing a fantastic job of keeping up with the workload despite temperatures routinely topping 100 degrees. No doubt this heat is hard on outdoor laborers. Weather this hot is tough on trees, too. We rely on trees for so much, and this time of year we certainly don’t take them for granted.

Look around a parking lot. There will be cars parked in the very back even if there’s just a sliver of shade!

Know Your Trees’ Water Requirements

A native California buckeye, Aesculus californica in the South Yuba River Canyon. Always one season ahead, these trees are the first to leaf out in the spring, and begin to turn dormant in the summer, reducing its water requirements. 

A good place to begin is by knowing the tree species on your property and their watering preferences. Native trees generally do not need irrigation. They are well adapted to the climate of this region and have deep root systems that allow them to make it through the hot and dry summer months. In fact, irrigation should generally be avoided around native trees. We have seen issues like root rot develop in natives that receive too much water, which can create a hazard. During the heat of summer, we sometimes recommend giving our native trees, more often conifers, some water on an infrequent basis. A good place to start is once or twice month if it’s been extremely hot and dry.

Generally, under the dripline of the tree you can expect there to be tree roots.

Trees prefer a deep watering for a few hours, in the evening or overnight, that covers the entire root zone. The root zone is typically within the dripline of the tree, see the illustration below. Adequate coverage is not easily achieved with drip irrigation, therefore we recommend some kind of sprinkler. Frequent shallow irrigation, such as a lawn would receive, encourages a shallow root system that leaves trees more susceptible to drought. It’s important to note, mature trees are more tolerant of low-moisture conditions than young trees.

Keep an Eye Out for Signs of Moisture Stress

Your trees will tell you when they are experiencing stress due to low moisture in the soil. In the early stages of low moisture conditions, leaves on a tree may look wilted, not unlike a houseplant. The edges of the leaves may then turn brown. 

On the left is a Box elder, Acer negundo showing wilting and leaf scorch. On the right, Autumn blaze maple, Acer freemanii, showing brown spotting from drought stress. 

Another sign of moisture stress may be little to no new growth on the tree. Typically, new seasonal growth will be lighter green in color and smaller. If you can't find any new growth on the tree, it could mean dry soil is the culprit. If dry conditions persist for a good while, portions of the upper crown will lose their leaves and die back. An example of this is shown in the common hackberry, Celtis occidentalis, pictured here in Grass Valley. These are tough trees which are extremely tolerant of poor soil, compaction, and drought. As far as I could tell, this tree was receiving no irrigation.

Make Mulch Your Magic!

Mulch is an easy way to give your tree a little extra help against the heat. Mulch increases moisture retention so less water is required to maintain the tree's health. It keeps the roots covered and cooler, and provides amazing nutrients. The decomposition process integrates a nice loam into the soil, aided by worms, critters, and fungi. I have personally found that mulched trees need at least 50% less water to maintain their health.

Raw woodchips from an arborist like us is considered the best mulch for trees. It’s not just chipped wood, it's also bark, twigs, and leaves that decompose at different rates to provide a rich organic material for your trees.

Bowie, takes a break from racing to rest on her throne of fresh wood chips.