Tree Fire Mitigation
Tree fire mitigation usually refers to wildfire mitigation, which allows you to minimize the destructive effects a wildfire has on your property by creating a defensible space around your home and modifying the home's construction (for example, the materials used to build your house). Defensible space is the area around your house where the vegetation, including shrubs and trees, has been modified or removed to reduce the intensity of a wildfire and slow its spread.
Some Insurance Companies Require Fire Mitigation
Depending where you are located your insurance company may require you to create and implement a fire mitigation plan before they will provide (or renew) your insurance. Without insurance, not only are you financially responsible for all damage, but your mortgage company (which requires you to have homeowners insurance) may cancel your financing. Unfortunately, we're seeing more homeowners being dropped by insurance companies due to worries about wildfire risk and the associated costs of property damage.
Get Instant Quote
Contact Us
Fire Mitigation Services from Victoria Tree Masters
Our tree care professionals focus on reducing the number and volume of combustible plant fuels around your property to create a defensible space.
We focus on three levels of potential threats to your property:
- Ground Fuels these are combustible materials found on the ground, such as dry leaves and needles, fallen trees and branches, and dead plants (including trees). Removing them helps to slow down the speed and intensity of a wildfire.
- Ladder FuelsLadder fuels are materials that allow a fire to spread upward from the ground to the tree canopy or your roof. We carefully remove young trees/saplings, the lower branches of trees and any large shrubs that could ignite in a fire.
- Top FuelsHeavy tree canopies allow a fire to quickly jump from tree to tree and spread beyond the reach of fire crews on the ground. Selectively thinning tree canopies can lower the risk of fire spreading.
Why Hire Victoria Tree Masters for Fire Mitigation
There are companies that claim to do "fire mitigation". But what we see far too often is a property on which all trees have been cut to the ground, and the shrubs and undergrowth removed entirely. While that may seem like the best option, in many cases, it only serves to make the wildfire risk greater in the long term. We minimize the fire risk on your property without turning it into a barren wasteland.
Fire Mitigation Work Done by Arborists
Because of the connection between trees and wildfires, the arborists at Victoria Tree Masters have become well-versed in the correct way to make properties firewise.
Unlike logging and landscaping companies, hiring an arborist for wildfire mitigation work on your property means that the work will be done with a full understanding of how wildfire risk is affected by different tree species, tree health and structure, spacing and placement of mature and understory trees, and more. If you want to care for your trees the right way, hire an arborist - we're the tree experts.
Preserve Your Valuable Mature Trees
Not all trees need to be removed for fire mitigation. In fact, removing all trees can leave room for invasive plants and weeds to spring up, which are more of a fire hazard. We can help you save and care for the valuable mature trees on your property.
Create a Beautiful AND Firewise Space
Native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers all have their place on a fire-wise property. We can show you how you can have a yard filled with plants that is still utilizing fire mitigation tools.
Choose Native Trees and Plants That Benefit Our Local Wildlife
Choosing native trees and plants not only makes your property more fire-wise, but it benefits our local wildlife. The experts at Victoria Tree Masters can help you choose (and plant!) native varieties that are beautiful and helpful.
Minimize Fire Danger on Your Colorado Property
We have years of experience living and working in the Victoria area. We have the tools, experience, and knowledge to help you mitigate fire dangers on your property without harming the ecosystem.
Create a Defensible AND Beautiful Space
The Certified Arborists Victoria Tree Masters can help you create a defensible and beautiful space around your home. You can have an attractive landscape that mitigates the spread of wildfire by:
- carefully choosing plants that are less flammable,
- planting and properly spacing them in areas that are less likely to contribute to wildfire, and
- maintaining healthy plants that are more fire resistant.
We specialize in helping you make the right choices and then implementing the plan to make your property and loved ones safer.
What are common wildfire mitigation actions?
Home hardening: Building homes with non-combustible or fire-resistant materials for roofs, siding, and decks to make them less vulnerable to embers and flames.
Defensible space: Creating a buffer zone around your property by removing flammable vegetation, dried leaves, and debris.
Community programs: Implementing programs to reduce hazardous fuels on a larger scale within neighborhoods and communities.
Fire bans: Enforcing restrictions on certain activities, like campfires, fireworks, or burning, during high-risk periods.
Prescribed fire: Carefully planned and executed fires to reduce fuel loads and prevent uncontrolled wildfires.
What should I do to personally prepare?
Emergency kit: Prepare an evacuation "go-bag" with essential supplies for you and your family.
Evacuation plan: Develop an escape plan for your household and practice it.
Property documentation: Keep a detailed record of your property and its contents in case of claims for wildfire damage.
Insurance: Ensure you have an up-to-date insurance policy that covers wildfire damage.
What should I do during an evacuation?
Secure your home: Close all windows, doors, and garage doors to prevent ember intrusion and protect your property.
Leave gates open: As part of your evacuation plan, ensure emergency gates are open to allow fire services access.
Where can I find more information?
FireSmart Canada: A national program offering resources for homeowners and communities to become more resilient to wildfires.
Local authorities: Refer to information from your local emergency services and fire departments for specific local guidance.
What is Fuel Mitigation?
Fuel Mitigation is the process of reducing the risk of an intense wildfire by removing an appropriate
amount of fuel (excess woody debris, fallen trees, dead standing trees). The end result is a forest that helps
to act as a barrier to rapid fire spread.
How do wildfires spread?
Aside from direct flame contact, wildfires spread most rapidly from small embers called ‘firebrands’ being lofted into the air by hot smoke or transmitted by strong winds. Aggressive Crown fires are known to throw firebrands up to 2 kilometers ahead of a fire front. Fuel mitigation attempts to modify the arrangement of fuels in a forest in a way that reduces the chances of aggressive crown fire development.