Real Estate Wildfire Hazard and Defensible Space Evaluations

One of the happiest days of our adult lives is when we purchase our first home. There is no feeling like it. The home belongs to you. The land under the home belongs to you. The responsibility for managing all of the vegetation on the property also belongs to you. This means that you could be facing thousands of dollars of vegetation management costs right away! It may also mean that you won’t be able to get fire insurance! (Find out why)

1. What wildfire threats to the home are there?
2. How much will it cost to comply with vegetation regulations and fire codes?
3. Can I hire someone to rate the wildfire threat to the property or home, evaluate the defensible space needs and also do the work to establish a defensible space?

Q: How can I really find out about the threat of wildfire to the home I want to buy?
Contact Firescape. Our consultant will conduct a site visit to evaluate the potential threat of wildfire to the home you want to buy.

Q: Will my agent know about the threat of wildfire to the home I want to buy?
Your agent may know if the home you want to buy resides in a high or severe wildfire hazard area but wouldn’t you rather have an expert with a firefighting background conduct that sort of investigation for you? (Read about us)

Firescape includes an objective “Wildfire Hazard Evaluation” using the nationally recognized NFPA 1144 Form. This evaluation scores the home allowing you to see exactly how dangerous it may or may not be.

Q: What is a defensible space?
A Defensible space is an area around a structure where fuels and vegetation are treated, cleared or reduced to slow the spread of wildfire towards the structure. It also reduces the chance of a structure fire moving from the building to the surrounding wildlands. Defensible space provides room for firefighters to do their jobs.

Q: Does the home I want to buy need a defensible space?
Homes that reside in high, very high or severe wildfire areas must have a defensible space. (Some local hazard maps) Often times it is more complicated than that though. Some Fire Districts and City Fire Departments require more space than the minimum 100' required by Cal Fire (formerly known as CDF).

Q: Is there someone I can hire to evaluate my defensible space and assess the wildfire hazard at the same time?
Yes. Firescape can and will do both jobs at the same time during the same appointment saving you money! Firescape will evaluate the defensible space using proven wildland firefighting criteria. Firescape will assess the wildfire hazard by using the NFPA 1144 Form, giving you a numerical score and hazard rating.

Q: When I buy the home, how much will it cost me to comply with the defensible space rules and regulations?
Assumptions: Firescape has conducted the wildfire hazard assessment; Firescape has conducted the defensible space evaluation and local fire history research.

The Firescape consultant can provide an estimate for your defensible space or vegetation management needs at the same time as the evaluation and wildfire hazard assessment. Our fire prevention services include:

1. Brush removal
2. Tree thinning and spacing
3. Removing ladder fuels
4. Chipping of brush, limbs and trees up to 15” in diameter
5. Mowing

Q: What does the defensible space evaluation consist of?
Firescape will evaluate all of the following areas:

• Home location (Ridge top, Canyon, Saddle, Mid-slope)
• Fire resistive building features (Siding, Roofing, Screening)
• Fuel model around the home
• Prediction of expected flame lengths during a wildfire
• Distance required for the proper sized defensible space
• Identification of vegetation that needs removal
• Identification of troublesome fire prone brush and trees
• Assess tree canopy enclosure percentage
• Identify possible wildfire ignition sources
• Identify on site hazards (LPG tanks, electrical service, etc.)
• And much more……..

Q: So, tell me again. How can Firescape help me to make a good decision on whether to buy a home in the country or not?

• Hire Firescape to conduct a wildfire hazard assessment using the NFPA 1144 Form
• Hire Firescape to conduct a defensible space evaluation
• Or the easiest solution of all
• Hire Firescape to conduct the hazard assessment, defensible space evaluation and give you an estimate for completing the vegetation management all at the same time.

In the past, most buyers of homes in the country never gave the threat of wildfire even the slightest thought. Today, buyers of homes in the country are more aware of the potential for wildfires. The threat of wildfire to homes has become so frequent and devastating that all Real Estate transactions occurring in a high or severe fire hazard area are required to disclose this to the buyer. The Real Estate Disclosure is vague and buried inside a mountain of paperwork that no buyer really ever reads.

If you, as the home buyer, actually read the potential hazard to your home presented by wildfire you probably would not have actually bought the home! Further, homeowners in these areas must have a 100 foot defensible space surrounding the home. The law (PRC 4291) and (CA Gov. Code sections 51175-51189) requires this 100 foot of defensible space in State Responsibility Areas (S.R.A.) and it is enforced by Cal Fire, formerly known as CDF. In fact, this law is so important that many other Fire Districts and City Fire Departments are implementing resolutions and ordinances that are even more stringent. Often times, when the home or property owner does not comply with “Fire” notices to clean-up the vegetation then the local fire agency or Cal Fire will hire a contractor to do the work for the owner and then place a lien against the property for payment that will appear on their property tax bill. Convenient? No. Most times there is also a “Department Fee” that accompanies it that is very expensive.

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Find out about our Defensible Space Placarding Program.

State of California Wildfire News, Regulations and Defensible Space Information:

Please click on the CAL FIRE logo above.

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