If creating 100 feet of defensible space around your home is something that you’ve put on the back burner (no pun intended), would losing fire coverage on your homeowner’s policy get your attention? It did for me. Since 2010, there’s been a 224% increase in complaints about rising insurance premiums for people who live in high-risk of wildfire areas. CALFIRE has designated specific zip codes to be at the greatest risk of wildfires and many insurance companies are not selling new policies and not renewing existing ones. Yup!
Besides moving to Alaska, the best way to position yourself so you don’t lose your fire coverage is to clear 100 feet of fuel (wood piles, brush, trees with low-hanging branches, wooden outdoor furniture) around your house. This will improve the chances that your house won’t burn if a wildfire heads your way. Insurance companies are being pressured to consider reducing premiums or renewing policies for homeowners who protect their homes by mitigating wildfires. It could also save your life if you get trapped and can’t evacuate.
As California Mother of the Year, I’m urging everyone to dedicate 4 hours per weekend to clearing fuel from around your homes. Schedule a “family clearing” block of time each weekend for a month. Put it on the calendar so family members have plenty of time to make plans. Then, designate specific tasks to be completed each weekend. Start with moving piles of firewood, wood, or wooden furniture/toys away from the house. Then weed whack overgrown areas down to 2-4 inches. Next, limb up all trees to 8-10 feet. Then haul everything to the landfill or chip branches to create mulch and spread it around your property. In one month you’ll create a safe home for your family, and you may be able to keep fire insurance coverage on what’s probably your biggest asset. Even if you’re not in a zip code that has stopped renewing fire insurance policies, with temperatures rising and droughts in the forecast, you may be next.
Share your family-clearing photos on the California American Mothers Facebook page. This will encourage others to create 100 feet of defensible space around their homes. Talk to your neighbors to do the same because insurance companies and CALFIRE will be looking at communities when delineating high-risk fire areas.
Let’s do this!
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