Blaze patrol

Five steps to firescaping having watched her childhood home burn to the ground in the Tea fire, Jessica harlin, owner of Barefoot design in Santa Barbara, keenly understands the growing demand for responsible “firescaping”—that is, landscaping with an eye to fire safety.

“This area hadn’t burned in 50 years,” she says, “and the people that had prepared ended up being better off because they had a buffer zone between the wild land and the home.”

Recognizing that landscape design can either fuel a fire or mitigate its damage, harlin says she hopes to help locals create landscapes that are “aesthetically pleasing but also very functional from a safety standpoint,” and offers these basic fire-wise tips:

1. Think ‘Hard’: for homes at high fire risk, harlin typically integrates hardscape elements that are completely non-ignitable, such as stone, concrete and gravel, for features like bocce ball courts and dining terraces. These, she says, create texturally interesting, usable spaces, while also limiting flammability.

2. Stay Low: Keep tall vegetation, like trees and ivy that could direct fire toward the eaves at least 30-feet from the base of the house. Instead, opt for low-lying options like lawn and meadow. harlin notes that lawns offer the added benefits of having higher moisture content; providing a flat, navigable space for fire crews, and, often, involving irrigation systems that can help create a fuel break.

3. Find Water: Speaking of irrigation, the topic of water-conservation in Santa Barbara is often at odds with that of fire safety when it comes to landscaping. harlin says that drought-tolerant plants like native grasses can be highly flammable, while highly irrigated yards can help reduce fire risk. Succulents are a great solution to this dilemma, she explains, as they are drought-tolerant while also high in flame-stifling moisture content; but, they can also seem too sparse for anything but the modern home. for a lusher-looking, yet still water- and fire-conscious landscape, she suggests plants and trees bearing leathery leaves, fruit or nuts—like olive and avocado trees—which naturally are higher in moisture content. other common options include subtropical plants like the bird of paradise; or deciduous trees, which have high moisture when in-leaf and less “fuel” available during dormancy.

4. Stay Clear: oak trees, harlin says, have hard, dense wood that, surprisingly, doesn’t ignite quickly. however, she is quick to point out that the leaves that fall from it and the branches that die and dry up in it are major fire risks. harlin recommends creating a 300-foot buffer zone between your structure and the wild land that is free of dead wood and dry leaves.

5. don’t Fuel the Flame: many quintessential Santa Barbara plants— native grasses, eucalyptus trees, pine trees and palm trees—are not very fire-savvy, harlin says. Avoid planting trees with sap and oil, or plants that feel dry and crisp to the touch. —Jamie relth