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UI publication offers wildfire protection tips

MOSCOW – A new University of Idaho publication designed to help private landowners and others minimize the risk of losing their property and homes to wildfire is now available.

"Protecting and Landscaping Homes in the Wildland/Urban Interface" is an updated version of the popular "Landscaping for Fire Prevention: Protecting Homes on the Wildland/Urban Interface," first released in 1998.

This fourth edition features new information and expertise from nationally recognized fire expert, Jack Cohen. Thirty-nine full-color photographs and graphics illustrate the extreme danger of wildfire and help readers understand how to protect their homes.

Protection tips include defining a "home ignition zone," by assessing what fire hazards are within 200 feet of the house. The authors recommend three zones of treatment to protect fire vulnerable homes and landscape.

Zone one residents should pay particular attention to using nonflammable roofing materials, enclosing decks, sofits and overhangs, and removing debris from roofs and gutters.

Zone two consists of surrounding the home with a 100-foot greenbelt of well-watered and maintained plant material.

Zone three extends 100 feet beyond the greenbelt and consists of thinned native plants and other fire-resistant plants.

Other safety tips include using double pane windows, covering all attic and basement openings and paying attention to places where combustible materials meet each other, for example where a wooden fence connects to wooden stairs or decking.

Through careful landscaping, storage and maintenance of the home and its surrounding area, the publication offers ways people can safely live as part of the wildland/urban interface when wildfire threatens.

The publication costs $4 and is available by contacting Agricultural Publications, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 442240, Moscow, Idaho, 83844-2240, telephone (208) 885-7982, or email agpubs@uidaho.edu.