Living in the mountains can be exhilarating, but it’s not without risk. Living in an environment that is prone to wildfires comes with great responsibilities. Here’s tips on how to prepare your property to avoid dangerous and costly fires for you and your neighborhood.

Preparing your Property

1. Ensuring your property is safe is one of the greatest responsibilities for home owners in the mountains, which may include tree and vegetation mitigation so fires cannot as easily reach your home.

2. Home Fire Prevention Assessment: In the foothills, you can register for a free home wildfire risk assessment by entering your address and contacting your local fire authorities. They will provide a report that may be helpful to provide to your home insurance provider.

3. A home assessment will help reduce risk to wildfire including: creating a defensible space by limiting the vegetation around your home, and vulnerabilities of the home and structures (home hardening) on your property.

4. Create a Defensible Space: Create a space where embers cannot get to your home by landscaping with rocks, concrete or breaks within 5 feet of your home; reduce the amount of vegetation, trees and dead materials are beyond 30 feet of your property; restrict fire spreading within 100 feet of your property by removing shrubs, lower branches, smaller trees and creating space around outbuildings, storage sheds, or propane tanks.

5. Consider fire-resistant landscaping including using non-combustible mulch, avoiding fire-prone trees and pruning vegetation.

6. Roofs: Trim tree limbs far from your home and ensure leaves and other debris are free from the roof.

7. Gutters: Ensure gutters are free of debris that may be combustible.

8. Vents: Ensure that fireplace and laundry vents are clean, clear and have adequate covers to avoid flying embers and flammable materials.

9. Ensure your house is equipped with appropriate home fire extinguishers.

10. Read more in this comprehensive home fire mitigation PDF
    

For more information, visit the Evergreen Fire Department’s website on Wildfire Information.

Sign Up For Alerts

• Sign up for a free community notification system that covers the foothills in Clear Creek County and Jefferson County called LookoutAlert: www.lookoutalert.co

Tips for Fire Safety in the Mountains

1. Never burn anything on your property (leaves or slash or trash) without first consulting your local fire department and assessing the fire risk level.

2. Check local fire restrictions before using a fire pit or camp fire on your property. Be careful using cook stoves, grills or even heaters on your decks or properties to avoid floating embers.

3. Avoid lighting fires in windy conditions, dry vegetation and hard surfaces.

4. Never leave a fire unattended.

5. Never leave fuels like gas tanks outside. Keep propane tanks clear of vegetation and debris that could cause fires.

6. Never throw cigarette or other smoking materials outside

7. Keep vehicles off grass and your dry land.

8. Prepare for possible evacuations due to nearby fires. What is your plan? Where will you go? What will you do with your cars? What will you take with you? Do you have pets or livestock you need to consider? Are you able to open your garage if the power goes out? Read more on evacuation preparation and download the foothills evacuation checklist so you are prepared.