Zone 2 - Hardening your Home
ZONE 2
GOAL: This zone is designed to give an approaching fire less fuel, which will help reduce its intensity as it gets nearer to your home or any structures.
CRITICAL STEPS
Mow grasses to 4 inches tall or less.
Avoid large accumulations of surface fuels such as logs, branches, slash and mulch.
Remove enough trees to create at least 10 feet* of space between crowns. Measure from the outermost branch of one tree to the nearest branch on the next tree.
Small groups of two or three trees may be left in some areas of Zone 2. Spacing of 30 feet* should be maintained between remaining tree groups to ensure fire doesn’t jump from one group to another.
Remove ladder fuels under remaining trees. This is any vegetation that can bring fire from the ground up into taller fuels.
Prune tree branches to a height of 6-10 feet from the ground or a third of the total height of the tree, whichever is less.
Remove stressed, diseased, dead or dying trees and shrubs. This reduces the amount of vegetation available to burn and improves forest health.
Common ground junipers should be removed whenever possible because they are highly flammable and tend to hold a layer of flammable material beneath them.
You can keep isolated shrubs in Zone 2, as long as they are not growing under trees. Keep shrubs at least 10 feet* away from the edge of tree branches.
Periodically prune and maintain shrubs to prevent excessive growth. Remove dead stems annually.
Spacing between clumps of shrubs should be at least 2 1/2 times* their mature height. Each clump should have a diameter no more than twice the mature height of the vegetation. Example: For shrubs that grow 6 feet tall, space clumps 15 feet apart or more (measured from the edge of the crowns of vegetation clumps). Each clump of these shrubs should not exceed 12 feet in diameter
This information is from this helpful booklet from Colorado State Forest Service see the link to download the pdf
Or check out our next post about Zone 3
