By Pat McKelvey - Montana Tree Farm System Board Member

Now is the time to get the yard and immediate area around your home ready for the summer and wildfire season.

More and more people in Montana are making their homes in woodland settings - in or near forests, rural areas or remote sites. There, homeowners enjoy the beauty of the environment but face the very real danger of wildfire. Wildfires often begin unnoticed. They spread quickly, igniting brush, trees and homes. Reduce your risk by preparing now.

Start with a simple plan of action from the top down. Begin by inspecting your chimneys, and clean at least once a year. Remove any branches within 15 feet of a stovepipe or chimney opening. Follow by cleaning of the roof and gutters if present. They may have collected needles, leaves, twigs, and other debris over the winter. Work your way down the siding, just looking for cracks that may need attention, collected debris on window sills, or other areas of collection that in the event of a wildfire would catch and hold hot embers. Any areas where a snow drift has formed, so can an “ember drift” form.

Work in that immediate 5 feet around the structure…. raking leaves, dead limbs and twigs, clearing any flammable vegetation. Look up….and if you see dead branches or limbs extending over the roof, cut them off. If there are branches close to power lines, call the power company to have them cleared.

Check your landscaping. Avoid planting high resin, fire-prone plant materials, such as juniper and tall grasses; burning embers and ground fires can easily ignite them. Succulent plants and ground covers are good choices, as are flowerbeds and vegetable gardens. The MSU cooperative extension service has a list of plant materials that will give you the green you are looking for, but are also fire resistant. Take a look at their list, you’ll be glad you did.

Remember to move that firewood stack at least 100 feet, and uphill, from the structure. And if you have a wooden board fence, check its condition as well. Make sure that if it approaches the body of the structure, there is a way to provide for an opening so you can break that connectivity to the structure in the event of a wildfire.

As the season progresses you will get into that regular grass mowing routine, and maintain an irrigated green space around your home. The spring, is also a good time locate and store those handy tools that could be used in the event of a fire. Keep on hand those tools you use in your landscape maintenance work, as well as hoses and sprinklers.

While you’re at it, spring is a perfect time to review, or design an action plan for what you’ll do in the event of a wildfire in the area. Revise, if necessary, but refresh your whole family on what that plan is. It will save you lots of time, when you might not have much time to react to a possible wildfire near you.