Protecting Homes in Rural Areas

The following tips can help you keep your rural home safe from fires:

• Burn in approved containers with spark-arresting screens.
• Consider non-combustible fencing around your house.
• Have a fire evacuation plan.
• Install a sprinkler system in your yard; turn it on if fires approach.
• Keep road rights of way mowed.
• Know what important items you need to take with you (medications, insurance and banking information, photos, etc.).
• Maintain at least 100-foot landscape clearings around your home, barns, and buildings.
• Mow / scalp a 100-foot area around controlled burn areas.
• Mow / scalp / plow a 40-foot path around your property to provide fire breaks for fire departments.
• Quickly report any fire you see and, if possible, try to extinguish it.
• Remove dead leaves, vegetation, tall grass, and other debris from around your home.
• Stack firewood at least 50 feet from your home.
• Store flammable liquids in approved safety containers in a safe location 50 feet from your home.
• Use non-flammable skirting and siding around your house or mobile home.
• Wet your roof and surrounding vegetation if a fire approaches.

Controlled Burns

Please see our Burn Notification page for more information on controlled burns.