Extension ServicePreparing your home
Click on each tab below to learn more about how you can better prepare your home and yard for wildfire.
Home hardening refers to making improvements to your house (or other structures) to reduce the chance of a wildfire ignition. This can include upgrading building materials, changing structural elements (like sealing cracks or adding screens), and doing regular maintenance, such as cleaning out your gutters. Home hardening is the #1 defense you have against home loss due to wildfire. Check out these resources for guidance on home hardening strategies.
Home hardening guidance
Home hardening addresses the most vulnerable components of your house with building materials and installation techniques that increase resistance to heat, flames, and embers that accompany most wildfires. Oregon's Building Codes Division has created a fire hardening guide to assist with proper selection and techniques.
Creating defensible space means managing vegetation and other combustible materials around your house to reduce the chance of home loss in a wildfire.
The Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) includes structures and the area within 100’ (or 200’ on steep slopes) which requires fuels management to reduce the chance of a structure ignition in a wildfire.
Oregon State University Extension Service
Keeping Your Home and Property Safe from Wildfire
© 2017 Oregon State University. Extension work is a cooperative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, familial/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, genetic information, veteran’s status, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Accessibility: This publication will be made available in an accessible alternative format upon request. Please contact [email protected] or 541-737-3311.
Oregon State University Extension Service
The Home Ignition Zone: Protecting your property from wildfire
© 2020 Oregon State University. Extension work is a cooperative program of Oregon State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Oregon counties. Oregon State University Extension Service offers educational programs, activities, and materials without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, familial/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, genetic information, veteran’s status, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Accessibility: This publication will be made available in an accessible alternative format upon request. Please contact [email protected] or 541-737-3311.
A PNW Extension Publication
Fire-resistant plants for home landscapes
© 2023 Published and distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the Oregon State University Extension Service, Washington State University Extension, University of Idaho Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. The three participating Extension services offer educational programs, activities and materials without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, familial/ parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, genetic information, veteran’s status, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Accessibility: This publication will be made available in an accessible alternative format upon request. Please contact [email protected] or 541-737-3311.
Defensible space for homeowners & renters
The Oregon State Fire Marshal has created a defensible space checklist to help you prioritize. Following these recommendations can increase the likelihood that your structure - like your home or business - will survive a wildfire.