In some cases, which home survived the wine country fires and which didn’t depended on what was growing around the house. KCBS reporter Doug Sovern says survivors of the Oakland hills firestorm 26 years ago are sharing the lessons they learned about fire-safe landscaping.
You won’t find any shredded bark or wood chips anywhere near Sue Piper’s home in Hiller Highlands, California. Twenty-six years ago, her house was one of the more than 3,000 destroyed by the Oakland hills firestorm. Now she knows better than to use flammable mulch, or plants, shrubs and trees that can spread fire.
“What you want to avoid are things like rosemary or common juniper or California sage brush,” Piper says. Avoid Douglas fir, Monterey Pine and eucalyptus as they all have “high oil content,” according to Piper.
Piper suggests placing gravel or stone right around your house, 5 feet of nothing flammable and 30 feet of defensible space with no overhanging branches.
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