House in the woods and Fire....

   / House in the woods and Fire.... #1  

MotorSeven

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
4,174
Location
NE TENN (Hancock Co)
Tractor
Kioti DK40SE Hydro
We have a pretty good idea of the log home design but i haven't sat down to draw it yet. We also have a good idea of the location: the top of a ridge in mixed hardwoods. They don't even man the old fire towers in the county and locals can't remember the last "forest fire". I do not want to cut all the trees back away from the house, but i get this nagging feeling about fire. The house will have a steel roof and a concrete safe room w/a main entry & escape route. Log homes are hard to get burning, but once on fire....well:( . I plan on thinning the trees and leaving only the large ones near the house. What other desgn features do i need to consider? An emergency sprinkler system for the exterior?.....once power went down that would be useless without a back up. All the fires out west and i am suprised no one has come up with a thermal blanket for a house.
Anybody else living in the woods done anything about the fire threat?
RD

PS: I'm overloading my pea brain with all this "stuff"
 

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   / House in the woods and Fire.... #2  
How much rain do you guys get? No fires in recent memory sounds good. Talk to your insurance agent, he'll be able to help you out. If you live in a very dry area he'll probably tell you to thin things out around the house. We typically get 4"+ of rain, (or a couple of feet of snow) every month. The danger of brush/forest fire is limited to a couple of weeks/year in early spring.
 
   / House in the woods and Fire....
  • Thread Starter
#3  
I checked the stats: Average-4" a month, had a record high year of 63" & low of 36" over the past 100 years. That's why forest fires are not common, but if we get a drought i don't want to be standing around thinking, "Sheeze, i wish i had done........."
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #4  
Checking with you insurance agent is good advice. In California, they have all sorts of rules on what you have to do for them to insure a home. They send out their agents every year to make sure the bush is cut back to there rules. If not, they give you a notice to fix it or they will drop your coverage.

I know California is pretty extreme, but they have allot of fires and my parents live in an area that burns quite often. Last year the smoke was almost blinding from one local fire!!!

Another source might by the local fire department. They fight the fires and know what causes problems and what solves them. Just because you're not aware of any fires in your area doesn't mean there hasn't been any. And if there really hasn't been any, the fire fighters still have to train and educate themselves on forest fires all the time, so they should be up to date on what you should do.

Again, back to California. The fire fighters won't even waster their time to save a house if it's surrounding by brush and trees if there's any other homes close by that they have a chance of saving. It's a matter of not enough time and not wasting it on a lost cause. Some homes are gonna burn no matter what you do, so save the ones you can.

One thing I've always remembered about a big fire storm in Southern California was when the fire was aproaching Tom Selicks ranch. Basically the fire was out of control and taking out hundreds of homes. It got to his house and stoped because he had planted fire proof plants. I have no idea what they are, but it's always stuck with me. Some plants will stop a fire!!!!

Good luck,
Eddie
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #5  
You are right about that Eddie,
"One thing I've always remembered about a big fire storm in Southern California was when the fire was aproaching Tom Selicks ranch. Basically the fire was out of control and taking out hundreds of homes. It got to his house and stoped because he had planted fire proof plants. I have no idea what they are, but it's always stuck with me. Some plants will stop a fire!!!!"

There are several books available on this topic. My wife has one and is thinking of eventually creating a garden using that idea when our new home is built in 3R. They are mainly succulants, iceplant, cacti species and such. Down South here, these same plants are reccomended becasue they thrive on less water and help with the water crises here. Some water conservation areas don't allow grass lawns or they must be a very minimum for the same reason. We even have specified times when we can water our gardens.(sprinklers)
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #6  
That was probably Ice plant. It's a succulent and holds a lot of water in it's pods.
I had it planted on the hillside behind my house in San Diego. It'll stop a fire if it's planted over enough area and far away enough from the house

Looks like this........
GG%20Park%20Ice%20Plant.JPG
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #7  
Delosperma floribundum <- refered to as ice plant. Just FYI. Actaully there are many delosperma's called ice plant. Floribundum is the one I see most often.
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #8  
MotorSeven said:
An emergency sprinkler system for the exterior?.....once power went down that would be useless without a back up. quote]

Why not consider a residential automatic sprinkler system INSIDE of the house. Forest fires maybe something to worry about BUT based on past history you mention for the area, the probability maybe low. BUT a house in the country, with fire department response being slow, I would worry about fire starting inside. Water supply for a residential sprinkler system is about 250-300 gallons. Click on the link below for more information on residential sprinkler systems.:D
 
   / House in the woods and Fire....
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Never heard of fire retardent plants/shrubs...........very interesting!
 
   / House in the woods and Fire.... #10  
1. Start by removing all of the "ladder" fuels: brush and undergrowth that do two things: 1. as relative humidity decrease, lighter fuels dry out in hours and start emitting volatile vapors. 2. Because of #1, they are easier to ignite, and provide thermal transmission/ignition to the heavier fuels (hence the ladder term) Your clearances of these should be at least 200 feet out from your house. This will not protect from an existing crown fire, but will decrease the fire load and possibility of a ground start.

2. The metal roof is a good thing; so are enclosed eaves, and metal rolling shutters.

3. Seriously consider an interior sprinkler system with a genset backup for your water supply.

4. Obtain a CAFS (compressed air foam (Class A) system) and learn how to use it. It is no more complex that starting up a pressure washer. If you have advance notice of a flame front, use the CAFS to pre-treat the wood siding of your house and then surrounding trees. It goes on thick, looking like shaving cream, has a good "hang" time, and can be the difference between a few charred areas, and having only a foundation left.
 
 
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