Fire department urging residents to create defensible space

Citing a “crop of cheatgrass,” the Carson City Fire Department is encouraging residents to prepare for wildfire season by creating defensible space around homes.

“As everyone is aware, we had a very wet winter,” CCFD Fire Marshal Michael Wilkinson said in a news release. “Along with these wet conditions is an overwhelming crop of cheatgrass.”

Wilkinson recommended using a string trimmer or mower to cut the cheatgrass “before it starts to dry out and drop more seeds.”

“Remember to use trimmers and mowers in the morning when the weather is cooler,” he said.

He also pointed out professionals can use pre-emergent weed treatments to prevent seeds in the soil from germinating.

Cutting down invasive grass helps, but residents should create defensible space to further safeguard their homes.

“A defensible space is a natural and/or landscaped area around a structure that has been maintained and designed to reduce fire danger,” said Wilkinson.

He described defensible space as having three components. The first is a 5-foot noncombustible zone.

“This area needs to have a very low potential for ignition from flying embers. Use irrigated herbaceous plants (lawn, ground cover and flowers), rock mulches or hard surfaces (concrete, brick and pavers) in this area,” Wilkinson said.

The second part is a “lean, clean and green area.”

“For a distance of at least 30 feet from the home, there should be a lean, clean and green area,” said Wilkinson. “Lean indicates that only a small amount of flammable vegetation, if any, is present. Clean means no accumulation of dead vegetation or flammable debris within the area. Green denotes that plants located within this area are kept healthy, green and irrigated during fire season.”

The last part of defensible space is the wildland fuel reduction area.

“This area usually lies beyond the residential landscape area and is where cheatgrass, sagebrush, bitterbrush and other wild plants grow,” said Wilkinson.

He listed three steps for this area: removing dead vegetation; thinning out thick shrubs and trees; and preventing ladder fuels by removing low tree branches and removing or pruning any shrubs under trees.

“For residents that live in designated Wildland Urban Interface areas of Carson City, the Carson City Fire Department has a trailer program to assist residents in creating defensible space,” said Wilkinson.

CCFD can drop off a trailer or dumpster that residents can fill while creating defensible space. Residents can call 775-887-2210 for availability and scheduling.

“We also offer free defensible space inspections,” added Wilkinson.

For information, visit https://www.carson.org/government/departments-a-f/fire-department/divisions/fire-prevention-division/wildland-fuels-reduction and https://www.livingwithfire.com/.