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RockyTop Part II. Making Defensible Space

Part II. MAKING DEFENSIBLE SPACE

home, grass, trees
Before, Summer of 2019

The Vegetation Management Ordinance effective this year requires people living in wildfire areas to create a defensible space around their home. Defensible space has three zones:

  1. The first 5 feet out from your home should be clear.
  2. The next 30 feet may have an occasional tree.
  3. The next 100 feet can have trees with 10 feet of distance between their canopies. The requirement is 200 feet on the downhill side of your home if your property is slanted.
May contain: grass, plant, building, and housing
After, Spring of 2020

During the summer of 2019 we removed 12 trees and did a lot of heavy trimming.  But the landscape has not changed appearance as much as we thought it would. We have essentially created more space for some trees to spread out and grow in a healthier way by removing others that were pressed tight against them. The before and after photos illustrate this difference.

Our landscape remains much the same in appearance with the exception of the two, large trees that were removed close to the house,

Now, in the spring of 2020, we are extending the tree thinning behind our home for 200 feet because our property is on a slant.

 

Next: Part III. Safe Entry & Exit.