Proximity to the beauty and serenity of California wildlands and native habitats is often a factor people consider when determining where to buy and build their homes. However, it is not just people who thrive in this natural beauty. Native habitats such as riparian and oak woodlands, chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and forests provide critical resources for wildlife.
In the Inland Empire some of our most prominent and scenic native habitats are chaparral and coastal sage scrub. These plant communities provide crucial habitat for many declining wildlife species, including those Rivers & Lands Conservancy works to protect.
These native plant communities also provide us many ecosystem services. They stabilize the soil, recharge groundwater, store carbon in their wood, and provide valuable scenic beauty.
Much of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub in our region has been degraded, reduced, and fragmented by development, disturbance, and too-frequent wildlife fires. When this happens, we lose scenic views and resources for wildlife. Non-native weeds establish themselves more quickly than native plants, taking over the reduced and fragmented habitat, choking out native plants vital for wildlife and producing lighter and more flammable fuels.
Fire is a part of the natural environment in Southern California. By taking responsibility for reducing wildfire risk to our properties, avoiding activities that could ignite fires in wilderness areas, and being responsible stewards of California native habitats, we can help protect the beauty, health, and resources of our incredibly biodiverse region.
Living near natural wildlands is desired by many, but it requires being proactive. Maintaining your property to reduce the risk of damage during wildfire can save lives, property, and assist firefighters in protecting your home. This is especially important if you live in a wildland-urban interface (WUI) where wildfires are more likely to occur near your home.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) defines the WUI as “the zone of transition between unoccupied land and human development. It is the line, area or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels.” According to the USFA, California has more houses in the WUI than any other state.
Learn more about the WUI here.
Many of us are in denial about the risk of wildfire to our homes. The first step in wildfire resilience is identifying your level of risk. What you find out may surprise you!
Take CAL FIRE’s self-assessment of your home’s wildfire resilience:
Search by community on the Wildfire Risk to Communities Page:
Understand the factors to contribute to wildfire risk:
Since most of California’s landscapes are naturally prone to burn, fire safety must start with the construction of our homes and associated structures. According to Sustainable Defensible Space, the heat and embers from a structure fire are greater than any vegetated area of similar size – thus – protecting your home from ignition will help protect your neighbor’s homes and your community. Using fire-resistant building materials and architectural features and implementing proper maintenance helps avoid fire ignition from embers and radiant heat. Older homes can be retrofitted to make them less susceptible to ignition and residents can create defensible space around their homes to further assist in fire resistance.
Learn more from this short video from CAL FIRE Riverside County:
Home Hardening Resources
Fortifying and retrofitting your home against ember intrusion can stop a fire on your property before it starts.
Home Hardening Suggestions from DefensibleSpace.org
Includes new construction, upgrades and maintenance:
CAL FIRE Suggestions:
City of Riverside Suggestions:
Or download the City of Riverside’s PDF:
Defensible Space Resources
Defensible space can be created by considering the zones around your house and how susceptible they are to igniting and fueling fires. More intense reduction of fuels should occur closest to your home and extend outwards. In general, Defensible Space Zones* are defined as:
- Zone 0: Ember-Resistant Zone (Extends 0–5 Feet from your home)
- Zone 1: Home Protection Zone (Extends 5-30 Feet from your home)
- Zone 2: Fuel Reduction Zone (Extends 30-100 Feet from your home, or to your property line, whichever is closer)
*Zone distances may vary depending on factors such as proximity to wildland areas, slope steepness, home hardening measures and local defensible space ordinances. Always consult with your local fire department or fire protection district for specific local rules.
CAL FIRE
- Defensible space recommendations:
https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/defensible-space/ - Defensible space flyer:
https://readyforwildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/calfire-store-signage-flyer.pdf
California Native Plant Society
- Creating a Fire-Resilient Home
https://www.cnps.org/wildfire/best-practices
University of California Cooperative Extension
- Southern California Guidebook: Sustainable and Fire-Safe Landscapes In The Wildland Urban Interface https://ucanr.edu/sites/safelandscapes/files/93415.pdf
Sustainable Defensible Space (Created by Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains)
- Wildland Urban Interface Wildfire Resilience Homeowner Handbook
https://www.rcdsmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Defensible_Space_Booklet.pdf - Website
https://defensiblespace.org/
Gardening with California native plants offers a wealth of benefits for both the environment and the gardener. Native plants are uniquely adapted to California’s diverse climates and soils, making them particularly resilient and low maintenance. Lightly irrigated California native plants in a comparison to traditional landscaping plants have proven to maintain higher levels of moisture and resistance to fire.
Fire-resistant landscapes are those that are less likely to spread fire from an ignition source to structures. The distance and density of plants near structures, the characteristics of the plants, and their health all affect their fire-resistance and potential to spread fire. A plant’s moisture level, overall volume, presence of dead material, and chemical properties can affect how a
plant behaves in a fire. Plants that can be hydrated during the dry season so that their leaves and stems that do not ignite readily, that do not accumulate dead stems and leaves creating fuel, and that tend to survive fire are more fire-resistant.
CAL FIRE Suggestions for Fire Smart Landscaping
Rivers & Lands Conservancy Suggestions for Fire Smart Landscaping in the Inland Empire region:
- Download the booklet here
Native habitats on unmodified or wildland parcels that neighbor your home, such as those managed by Rivers & Lands Conservancy, are often protected by regulations (e.g. Fish and Game Code) or other conservation restrictions that limit or restrict fuel abatement. Always consult with your local fire department or fire protection district for specific local rules and lean on their authority to require an owner to implement abatement measures. Trespassing is a civil crime that can be prosecuted in both civil and criminal courts.
In chaparral, continuing defensible space beyond 100 feet is most likely not necessary according to the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). Fire spreads faster and more intensely in the chaparral than the coastal sage scrub in part because chaparral has denser, woody evergreen shrubs while coastal sage scrub is more open and is dominated by semi-woody and semi-deciduous shrubs.
Unfortunately, both shrubland ecosystems are threatened by the introduction and spread of non-native, invasive annual grasses and forbs (e.g. mustards), especially in the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Non-native grasses and forbs are considered “ladder fuels” in California shrublands because they connect vegetation close to the ground to the canopy of taller shrubs, dramatically increasing the ability for fire to spread across a continuous landscape. Natural habitats in the Wildland-Urban Interface can be managed by selectively removing invasive plant species to reduce ladder fuels.
Learn how to recognize native and invasive plant species with the resources in the Fire Smart Landscaping Section or volunteer with Rivers & Lands Conservancy for one of our native habitat restoration events or California native plant garden events to learn hands on! https://riversandlands.org/events/
Prepare a wildfire action plan in advance of an emergency and make sure everyone in the family is familiar with the evacuation plan and emergency contacts.
CAL FIRE Wildfire Action Plan
- Website:
https://readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/wildfire-action-plan/ - Download:
English: https://www.paperturn-view.com/cal-fire-communications/cal-fire-ready-set-go-brochure-final-files-v4-print?pid=MjU252417&v=2%3F
Spanish: https://readyforwildfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/plan-de-accion-wildfire-action-plan_spanish-r.pdf
This project was made possible in part by a grant from The Inland Empire Community Foundation.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) is proud to be a partner in the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity (RFFC) program. This statewide initiative, administered by the Department of Conservation under the auspices of the California Natural Resources Agency, helps regions like ours develop and implement priority plans for improving forest health and protecting communities from wildfires. Find out more here: