by Dave Groubert
I know-what a silly question! After all, we do live in the country and if we did not have a ladder, we could find ourselves at risk of not being able to do the things that must be done at home. However, the ladder I am talking about is not the old rickety thing that is leaning against the barn or garage-it's the ladder that actually puts you, your family, and your home at risk. It's that progressively taller and taller fuel surrounding your home that we in the fire-fighting business call "ladder fuels". The ladder starts with the tall grass that grows around our homes, the next rung on the ladder is some scrub oak or low-hanging pinion or juniper branches, and, if you're lucky enough to have them, the next rungs are ponderosa pines and/or fir trees.
This, neighbors, is the recipe for disaster!
I know what you're thinking-"But I don't want the area around my home to look like a moonscape!" I could not agree more, and it does not have to. You can manage the area around your home by keeping the grasses and short ground over mowed. You can eliminate the tangled bunch of lower branches from the scrub oak, pinions and junipers that have a tendency to hang so close the ground where even a small fire could rapidly get larger. And do not forget those big pine trees near your home. They should be limbed up to about six feet above ground level. This thinning process helps to slow the progress of a wild fire as it approaches your home. The equation is simple-less fuel equals smaller fires. It all boils down to having a defensible space around your home.
For more tips on how to improve your home's defensible space, contact the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department at 846-2399 or 8538.
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