Learning Center

Wildfire Safety Tips

Protect your home from wildfires.

Take proactive steps to keep away wildfires, which most commonly occur in mountainous and foothill areas.

• To provide fire vehicles with easy access, have your driveway connected to a hard-surfaced main road that's at least 20-feet wide.
  
  
• Clear your driveway of vegetation so fire-fighting equipment can easily reach your house.
  
  
• Create a 30-foot (or greater) safety zone around your home. A safety zone may include such items such as low-growing, fire-resistant plants and shrubs; firebreaks like gravel walkways and stone walls; and pruned, well-spaced trees no closer than 10 feet apart. Prevent branches from hanging over your roof.
  
  
• Use roof material with a UL Class A or B fire rating. These include asphalt shingles; terra-cotta tiles; and metal, cement and concrete products.
  
  
• Keep your roof and gutters free of debris.
  
  
• Remove combustible materials and vegetation from porches, balconies and decks with exposed space underneath.
  
  
• Cover vents with quarter-inch noncombustible screens.
  
  
• Place spark arrestors on chimneys and stovepipes.

Additional wildfire safety information:

• IBHS Reducing Wildfire Risk brochure
• IBHS Wildfire Home Assessment and Checklist

These recommendations were developed using generally accepted safety standards. Compliance with these recommendations is not a guarantee that you will be in conformance with any building code, federal, state or local regulation regarding safety or fire. Compliance with these recommendations does not ensure the absolute safety of your occupation, business or residence. It is the property owner’s duty to warn any tenants or occupants of the property of any safety hazards that may exist.