It is important that land owners in the Spokane area take the steps necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfire damage to home and property. 

A District Forester will come out to your property for approximately one hour and will provide you with a list of practical ways to lessen your wildfire risk. The most important element to lowering your wildfire risk is the effective use of defensible space.

Defensible space is the area between your home and an oncoming wildfire where the vegetation has been modified to reduce the wildfire threat and to provide an opportunity for firefighters to effectively defend your home. The exact size of your defensible space varies by slope and type of vegetation and will be determined during the assessment.

To schedule a Firewise risk assessment of your home site, or if you have questions about protecting your home from a wildfire, contact Garth Davis.

Below are examples of tips for preventing wildfire damage:

• Avoid the use of shake roofs
• Remove all dead branches that are hanging over your roof
• Clean dead leaves and needles from your roof and gutters
• Keep all woodpiles at least 30' away from all structures and clear all vegetation within 10' of the woodpiles
• Minimize the use of ornamental conifers in your landscaping; emphasize the use of low-growing plants, such as groundcover and bedding plants