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The second lesson to take away is the importance of mitigating your property. Familiarize yourself with the Home Ignition Zone, and fill out the HIZ on our website. The key is to make your home defensible in case of a fire. This includes, but is not limited to the following: keep an area around your house clear of trees and other combustible materials; keep grass and weeds mowed down to 2 to 4 inches; limb up trees 6 feet or more from the ground—but not more than 1/3 of a tree’s height; keep trees thinned to allow space between them—canopies should be 10 feet apart; keep shrubs away from under trees so they don’t become ladder fuel (flames from a shrub can reach 3-4 times the height of the shrub); and encourage your neighbors to mitigate their properties as well. Vacant parcels should also be mitigated. Do not let forest debris lie on the ground to rot. Clean up and dispose of deadfall, sticks, pinecones, and pine needles. You can find information on mitigation with a quick internet search. You can also pick up information at the main Florissant fire station on Teller 24.
Be aware of fire bans that are issued by the county. The POA is trying to keep you informed by putting up current Fire Ban banners at each entrance and posting the rules for the ban at the bulletin boards. Right now, we are in a Stage One Fire Ban, but with continued dry weather that is bound to change.
We were fortunate this time, but we all need to be prepared for next time. This summer is supposed to be the driest in history. We can make this community safer by all doing our part
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