Publication: Worth magazine

The 2013 wildfire season was the deadliest the U.S. has seen in a decade. A number of factors, including rising temperatures, invasive arid vegetation, and an increasing wildland-urban interface, have contributed to the rise in wildfires, but one thing’s certain: their impact isn’t likely to decrease anytime soon. Here’s what you need to know if you’d like to have your woods and mountains and keep them too.

1. Create a defensible space

Defensible space is the fire-impeding buffer between your home and the surrounding wildland.  Steve Quarles, the Senior Scientist at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, recommends breaking defensible space into three zones: a non-combustible zone, which encompasses the first 10 feet around the home, a firebreak zone, 10-30 feet, and a reduced fuel zone, 30-200 feet…

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