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Fire Resistant EVACUATION PREPAREDNESS Prepare in Advance & Leave Early HOMEOWNER’S GUIDE www.firesafemarin.org/plants www.firesafemarin.org/evacuation TO Choose only fire resistant plants, and remove or avoid fire prone Prepare long before a fire strikes: register for both Alert Marin (pyrophytic) plants. Remember that all plants can burn if they & Nixle; assemble a “Go Kit;” train your family in advance. Each aren’t properly irrigated or are poorly maintained. family member and pet should have an easily accessible Go Kit PREPAREDNESS stored in a backpack. Keep a change of or clothing Ground Covers Creeping Thyme Rhododendron and sturdy boots with your kit to wear while evacuating. Your car Carpet Bugle Perennial Verbena Azaleas should be your first choice to quickly evacuate to wide, open ar- IN Common Thrift Creeping Red FescueBlueberry eas near the valley floor. Don’t panic in traffic. If trapped, shelter- Snow-in-Summer +60 More online! Yucca ing in a building or car is often safer than being exposed on foot. Creeping Coprosma Lavender Cotton MARIN COUNTY

White Trailing Ice- Shrubs & Hedges +20 more online! 1. PREPARE IN ADVANCE 3. LEAVE EARLY English Laurel Prepare yourself, your family, Leave immediately if ordered. Privet, Glossy Privet your pets, and your home in If a fire is burning nearby Working to Reduce Wildfire Risk Since 1991 Rosea Iceplant Bird of Paradise Maple advance. Register for Alert (especially during a Red Flag Winter Creeper Creeping Mahonia Strawberry Marin and Nixle. Pack a “Go Warning), dress appropriately FIRESafe MARIN is a non- Beach Aster Angel’s Trumpet Carob Kit” for everyone (including and prepare to evacuate. Allow firefighters time and access to profit organization dedicated Beach Strawberry Bush Anemone Western Redbud pets), create defensible space, and harden your home. Com- respond. Leave if ordered, if Strawberry Breath of Heaven Mountain Ironwood to reducing the risk and hazard Bush Iceplant plete a Family Communications conditions change, or you feel of and improving fire- FIRESafe MARIN Bush Morning Glory Citrus Plan and practice regularly. unsafe or unsure. Candytuft Coreopsis Beech safety awareness in Marin County, P.O. Box 2831 Giant Turf Lily Escallonia Pineapple Guava 2. MONITOR CONDITIONS 4. STAY CALM CA. We encourage community San Anselmo, CA 94979 Ivy Geranium Monitor1 weather and local fire Take the3 fastest & most pro- Lantana Ash involvement by building strong www.firesafemarin.org Common Lippia conditions to understand when tected route to a valley floor. Lavender Macadamia partnerships and providing [email protected] Alpine Cinquefoil risk is highest. During “Red Carpool! Stay in your car or a Malva (Tree New Zealand Xmas resources to mitigate fire danger. (415) 570-4376 [4FSM] Green Lavender Flag Warnings,” take steps to refuge area if trapped. Don’t Mallow) Chinese Pistache panic in traffic! A wide road on Cotton prepare: review your evacua- Catalina Cherry African Sumac tion checklist; double-check the valley floor is one of the Stonecrop Pomegranate Oaks (all varieties) your Go Kit; charge your safest places you can be. Moni- Blue Chalksticks Hawthorn +20 more online! phones; monitor TV & radio. tor AM/FM news radio. photo courtesy of Todd Barbee

Mulches “FIRESafe MARIN WILDFIRE & EMERGENCY4 “GO KIT” WILDFIRE is Marin’s most Use only gravel mulch within 5’ 2 of structures. From 5’ to 30’, use  Full coverage goggles,  Copies of important docs valuable resource compost or heavy bark or wood N95 respirator, leather (birth certificates, pass- for preventing and chip mulches greater than 1/2” gloves, cotton bandana ports, insurance policies) PARTNERSHIPS preparing for wildfires. diameter. Avoid fine or shredded  Water bottle(s) and  Family Communication They foster community bark - it’s highly combustible and  Map marked with two or Plan with phone numbers involvement in ignites easily from embers. more evacuation routes to  Pet food, water, leashes, PLANNING wildfire safety by valley floor (if possible) pet supplies & medications building partnerships The number of homes destroyed by wildfire has soared in the  Prescription medications  Spare chargers for cell and encouraging US in the last decade. In 2018, more than 30,000 structures phones & electronics. PREVENTION FIRE HAZARDOUS PLANTS  Change of clothing cooperation among were destroyed in California alone. Nearly 100 lives were Certain shrubs and trees, like juniper, cypress, pampas/jubata  Sanitation supplies public and private  Spare glasses or contact lost. Marin is at risk. grass, , and many conifer trees are so flammable that lenses stakeholders.” Items to take only if time allows: PREPAREDNESS they should be removed. Replace with fire resistant species.  Extra set of car keys, credit  Easily carried valuables To reverse this trend, homeowners must understand how cards, Katie Rice homes ignite during wildfires and take action to protect their juniper pampas/jubata  First aid kit  Family photos and other PROTECTION FIRESafe MARIN irreplaceable items own property. There are easy and often inexpensive ways to  Flashlight and headlamp Chairperson. with spare batteries  Personal computer and Supervisor, 2nd District make homes safer, many of which are required by law. digital backups on hard  Battery-powered AM/FM drives and/or disks radio and spare batteries By following the simple strategies outlined in this guide, Marin residents can reduce their wildfire risk and minimize www.AlertMarin.org MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TODAY! the danger to their homes, families, and communities. FIRESafe MARIN depends on community support through Review our detailed online resources and tools for more Sign up to receive emergency alerts! volunteers, donations, and grants to conduct our mission of Alert Marin is Marin’s primary Register contact information improving awareness and reducing wildfire hazards. comprehensive information about wildfire preparedness at: emergency notification for all family members so system. You must register they’ll receive a warning FIRESafe MARIN is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Your donation may your cell phones, VoIP when emergencies threaten be tax-deductible. www.firesafemarin.org bamboo conifers phones, and landlines to your home address. Practice receive emergency alerts. evacuation drills regularly! www.firesafemarin.org/donate Tax ID #68-0375763 2019 V2 Zone Zero: 0’-5’ 0 Zone 1: 5’-30’ 1 Zone 2: 30’-100’ 2 Access Zone: 0’-10’ 3 Zone 0 extends 5 feet from structures. There Zone 1 extends from 5 to 30 feet from buildings, Zone 2 is the space extending 30 to 100 feet from Property owners are responsible for vegetation should be “zero” combustibles in “Zone Zero.” decks, and other structures. buildings, decks, and other structures. adjacent to roads and driveways.

Remove all combustible materials and protect vents Keep this area “Lean, Clean, and Green,” and be sure Reduce fuel for fire, and separate trees and shrubs in Roadway clearance is critical for evacuation and first and openings where wind-blown embers can enter. to maintain regularly throughout fire season! this area. Remove dead vegetation regularly. responder access. Maintenance is required year-round.

1. Clear vegetation 14’ over- they do not extend into “Hardening” your home is critical These zones make up the 100’ of Defensible Space required by law head and 10’ from sides of the roadway. Embers are the most signifi- Install “Class A” roofing and roads and driveways in the 4. Address numbers must cant cause of home ignitions keep your and gutters same manner as Defensi- be clearly visible from the during wildfires. Protecting clean at all times, focusing on 4 4 ble Space Zone 1. road. Use 4” reflective your home from embers is areas like dormers where ver- critically important, and can tical surfaces meet the roof. 2. Maintain 12’ of unob- or lighted numbers on a structed pavement for contrasting background. be as simple as retrofitting vents, covering Other measures, such as passage of vehicles. 5. Create vertical spacing openings, retrofitting ember and flame 3. Choose only fire resistant between shrubs and lower sealing resistant vents, installing tem- 2 plants and ensure that tree limbs. doors and pered, dual-pane windows, windows, and installing fire resistant 3 and caulk- siding can make a home sig- Public Right of Way: Your Responsibility ing gaps and cracks. nificantly more fire resistant. 2 2 Property owners are responsible for Attachments & Fences vegetation adjacent to Wood fences, gates, and 3 roads and driveways, other combustible structures 1 1 *dormer even in the public should not be attached direct- “right of way.” Ensure ly to the . Use fire resis- 3

14’ that vegetation is tant materials instead, such as maintained near roads steel, aluminum, or masonry. on all sides of your Protect fences by removing 3

ROADSIDE CLEARANCE ROADSIDE property, especially vegetation and other fuels if your lot extends within 5 feet. between two 0 10’ Learn more: www.firesafemarin.org/home-hardening 0 3 streets.

1. Use only inorganic, non- 5. No vegetation is 1. Remove all dead grasses, 8. Trim trees to remove limbs 1. Cut annual grasses and 4. Allow no more than 3” Plant and Tree Spacing combustible mulches such recommended in Zone 0. weeds, plants, & foliage. 6’ to 10’ from the ground. weeds to a maximum of loose surface Mature trees don’t 2x x as stone or gravel. 6. Remove tree limbs that 2. Remove all fallen , 9. Remove branches that height of 4”. (consisting of fallen leaves, usually need to be needles, twigs, cones, and removed. In all zones, Create spacing be- 2. Choose metal outdoor extend into this zone. needles, twigs, bark, overhang your roof or 2. Provide horizontal spacing clear shrubs and grasses tween shrubs & trees; furniture instead of wood cones, and small branches. within 10’ of chimneys. small branches) if needed 7. Clean fallen leaves and between shrubs & trees. beneath trees. Remove add space on steeper or wicker. needles regularly, focusing to protect from erosion. slopes. 3. Remove “Gorilla ” or 10. Move firewood & 3. Create vertical spacing limbs at least 6’ to 10’ 3. Remove or relocate all on the roof, gutters, shredded bark mulch. out of Zone 1, or cover in 5. Remove all piles of dead above the ground (or between grass, shrubs 6’ -10’ combustible materials decks, & the base of walls. a fire resistant enclosure. vegetation. 1/3 the height of tree) to 3x - 4x 4. Use compost or heavy and lower tree limbs. Minimum including firewood, eliminate a “fire ladder.” x Clearance garbage and recycling bark mulch in this zone to 11. Remove combustibles containers, lumber, and maintain moisture and around and under decks Work with your neighbors control erosion. and awnings. trash. 1 Many homes don’t have 100’ of space between structures 0 2 Beyond 100’ & Open Spaces 4 4. Replace or natural 5. Choose only fire resistant 12. Clear vegetation around and parcel lines. Property owners are required to maintain doormats with heavy plants, and keep them fences, sheds, outdoor defensible space only to their property line. You may, however, Work with neighbors & land managers to reduce fuel on nearby rubber or metal grates. 8. Don’t store combustibles healthy and irrigated. furniture, play structures. be required to maintain vegetation on your property that properties and create fuel breaks to protect your community. Contact FIRESafe MARIN and your local fire department for on or under decks. Keep threatens neighbor’s homes, even if it’s more than 100’ from 6. Remove fire-prone plants. 13. Outbuildings and LPG © your structures. Check with your local fire department for details. help organizing neighbors to create a Firewise USA site. decks clean at all times. storage tanks should have 7. Provide spacing between 9. Install hardscaping and at least 10’ of clearance. shrubs, at least 2 times Work with neighbors to help provide defensible space for their paths of stone, gravel, the height of the mature 14. Maintain regularly, homes, and ask for help if their property threatens yours. In or concrete around the plant. Add space on focusing on the areas most cases, the most effective solution to mitigate hazards is a perimeter of structures. slopes. closest to the structure. cooperative approach between neighbors. www.firesafemarin.org/firewise