Zone 1: Immediate zone around your house

• 0-5 feet next to your home and its attachments (wooden decks, fences, sidewalks)

• This area should comprise of non-combustible materials including paves, concrete and bare dirt.

• Incorporate ignition resistant materials into your house and surrounding structures

  • Roofs, decks, doors, vents, etc.

  • To find out more, please visit FireSafe Montana Ignition Resistant Construction Guide

• Keep gutters, roofs, and eaves free of pine needles and leaves.

• Installing 1/8 inch metal mesh screening over vents will reduce entry of embers into home.

• Replace or repair any loose or missing shingles or roof tiles to prevent ember penetration.

• Repair or replace damaged or loose window screens and any broken windows.

• Remove anything stored underneath decks or porches.  

• Select fire resistant plants into your landscape.

  • Learn more about Fire Adapted Vegetation 

• Remove any dead trees, bushes, leaves from the immediate zone of your house.

Zone 2: Intermediate Zone 5-30 feet from the structure

• Trees and clumps of trees should have 18 feet of spacing between the tree tops (crowns).

• Prune trees 6 to 10 feet up form the base of the tree. Trim tree limbs that overhang the house.

• Remove vegetation under trees to prevent fires from reaching the canopy of the trees.

• Firewood stacks and propane tanks should not be located in this zone.  Cover firewood with canvas tarp in emergency.

• Keep lawns and grasses mowed to a height of four inches.

• Tree placement should be planned to ensure the mature canopy is no closer than 10 feet to the edge of the structure.

• Tree and shrubs in this zone should be limited to small clusters of a few each to break up the continuity of the vegetation across the landscape.

• Create ‘fuel breaks’, like driveways, gravel walkways, and lawns.

Zone 3: Extended Zone 30-100 from the structure

• The goal here is not to eliminate fire, but to interrupt the fire's path and behavior, keep flames small and on the ground.

• Dispose of heavy accumulations of ground litter/debris.

• Remove dead plant and tree material.

• Remove small conifers growing between mature trees.

• Remove vegetation adjacent to storage sheds or other outbuildings within this area.

• Trees 30 to 60 feet from the home should have at least 12 feet between canopy tops.*

• Trees 60 to 100 feet from the home should have at least 6 feet between the canopy tops*

*The distances listed for crown spacing are suggested based on NFPA 1144. However, the crown spacing needed to reduce/prevent crown fire potential could be significantly greater due to slope, the species of trees involved and other site specific conditions. Check with your local forestry professional to get advice on what is appropriate for your property.*

Source: nfpa.org