Lyn, we're very aware of the fire danger here. When we were originally looking for a house here, we were looking at ones in the woods. We quickly realized that our house would be toast if a fire started nearby. So, we changed plans and moved to a much less forested area. It's actually pretty much farmland, instead of forest. We have some trees, but none of them are close enough to the house to worry about. The fire department was here to protect our house when the fire was going, and they said we did a really good job of clearing the area around the house. All of the fire departments here a run by volunteers, and they have no programs in place to help people with clearing out stuff. We knew that ahead of time, and can do the work ourselves. I know that by planting something on the slope off the deck, it could be fuel for a fire, but living plants are much better than the fuel created by dead yellow star thistle.
We have 12 1/2 acres, and have only lived here about 4 months now. So, we're working hard to get things cleared, but it isn't going to happen overnight. Parts of our property are so steep that it's impossible to walk on them. You'd have to rappel if you wanted to get down some of the areas. But, our land is more flat that many of the other pieces of property around us. Living in a river canyon, I guess steep slopes are to be expected! Once the star thistle is somewhat under control, we'll be planting native grasses in some of the steeper areas. Yes, it's more fuel for a fire, but I can't live with just bare ground! And, even if I don't plant native grasses, something else will grow there anyway. It's really out of our control where that is concerned. The star thistle isn't going to slow down without competition anyway, and I'd rather have something growing that has a good chance of taking over in its place.
I was really impressed with the response to the fire. Less than 5 minutes after we saw the first puffs of smoke, there was a helicopter dumping water on it. Not long after that, a crop duster showed up to dump fire retardant around the house that the fire was closest to. Then 2 more helicopters showed up, and there were fire departments from all over that came to help. It really was amazing! A crew from Canada even flew in to help! I wish the fire had never started to begin with, but it was good to see that they take these things seriously here.
With that said, I can't live my life in fear of another fire, but I can plan accordingly, by keeping most of the tall plants away from the house, and we'll plant no trees next to the house. We will be planting more trees, but they'll be far enough away to be of no concern if a fire starts. Our house is next to the steep slope, but by planting some low-growing ground cover, it will be fine. And, it will be watered if it looks like it needs it, so having something there that isn't dry is much better than having all that dead fuel there. We just have to keep an eye on things! And, I will eventually have wildflowers growing everywhere! Well, that is the plan anyway. Not sure if it will work out that way, but I hope it does!
