Everything You Need to Know About Building in Wildfire Country

If you live in Washington, especially east of the Cascades in Chelan or Wenatchee, you know that the Evergreen State has five seasons; Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fire. 

While the ash in the air and constant smell of smoke can be a nuisance, the reality is that more than 90,000 structures have been destroyed by wildfires since 2005. In addition to that, wildfire forecasters are predicting that both the frequency and intensity of wildfires will continue to grow in the coming years. 

So as a homeowner, how do you protect your (likely) largest investment from nature? While you can’t control nature, there are several things you can do to mitigate the threat of a wildfire damaging your custom home.

First things first, get familiar with your construction site. Does it have a history of wildfires? How long ago was the last wildfire in the area? Is your build site generally windy? Are there trees, and if so are they healthy? All these preliminary questions can help determine what kind of risk you are taking on by building in that specific location. If you own property and are considering a few different places to build on, it is worth the time to weigh the pros and cons of each location and what vulnerabilities they may have to wildfire activity. 

Second, when planning and designing your future home, think of the surface area and how likely different areas are to catch fire in the event of a wildfire. Roofs, decks, and exterior walls make up the vast majority of your home’s surface area, and all of the building materials you choose play an important role in the strength of your house. For roofing material, consider metal roofing or asphalt shingles as a way to mitigate airborne embers and debris from growing. For decks, consider composite or treated wood specially designed to resist fire. Exterior walls can be constructed with concrete for the best resistance but there are other great alternatives such as fiber cement boards, metal siding, and stone.

Finally, smart landscaping can make the difference between your house surviving a blaze or becoming a statistic. Fire mitigation experts have identified 3 zones around every house that need to be carefully considered when planning landscaping.

Zone 1 is considered the 5 feet immediately against your house. This zone is critical as any trees or tall plants that may lean against your house or have branches that extend over your roof can turn into an extreme hazard in the event that they catch fire. Consider limiting plants in this zone to low-growing, non-woody, well-watered plants with a hardscape such as pavers, gravel or other non-combustible material. Check out this guide specifically created for fire-resistant landscaping in the Wenatchee and Chelan areas.

Zone 2 includes 5 feet to 30 feet surrounding your home. This zone is considered the “green zone” where your best efforts are spent clearing dead and dry vegetation and separating potentially combustible materials away from each other. 

Zone 3 is the 30 feet to 100 feet surrounding your house. This zone should be considered a buffer zone. In the event that a wildfire does approach this zone, regularly mowed grass, properly trimmed lower branches in trees, and reduced fuel will help to slow it down. 

Wildfires are here to stay but with a little extra planning before and during the building process you can mitigate some of the dangers and prepare yourself for living in wildfire country.

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