Good neighbors keep their communities safe.
After sharing her story earlier this month, we’re visiting again with our friend Charissa. She and her husband Roberto credit the defensible space efforts they put into their property with helping it—and Roberto—survive the Thompson fire. Between their planning and the heroic efforts of CAL FIRE, they and their home are safe and sound today.
Watch her video here:
A harrowing experience
When the Thompson fire reached their neighborhood, Roberto witnessed tall walls of fire approaching and embers flying through the air. He also witnessed fire dying at their property line because of their well-planned defensible space.
Seeing is believing
When it was all over, Charissa and Roberto could clearly see how their defensible space disrupted the progress of fire on their property. We don’t share their story to scare you but to simply prove defensible space really does work. You can hear about it directly from Charissa in this video.
Probably the most important point Charissa makes is we’re all in this together when it comes to wildfire. The stronger each member of a community makes their defensible space, the better protected the entire community is.
There’s help to get you started
If you’re new to living in a fire-risk area or find yourself a bit overwhelmed by the idea of doing special landscaping to create defensible space, please take a look at these links. You’ll find defensible space isn’t complicated.
- Go zone by zone: Learn about Zone 0, Zone 1, and Zone 2 on your property.
- Learn how to make an easy-to-follow plan.
- Concerned defensible space is expensive? It doesn’t have to be.
Take it from Charissa—defensible space is worth it for all of us.