Low Fuel Modification and Duff: Why Raking Up Dead Leaves Protects Your Home
Live where homes meet the wildland? Practice Low Fuel Modification, and rake up the duff, the dry leaves and needles that catch embers so easily.
If you live in the wildland-urban interface, the WUI, where homes meet the wild, your yard is part of your fire defense. Most homes that burn in a wildfire are lit by embers, not by a wall of flame. Embers need something dry to land on. That's where Low Fuel Modification and the duff come in.
What Low Fuel Modification Means
- Choose fire-resistant plants for the areas closest to your house.
- Keep them watered. A well-watered plant is much harder to ignite than a dry one.
- Space them apart so fire can't jump easily from plant to plant or from plants to your house.
What Duff Is, and Why It Matters
Duff is the layer of dead leaves, needles, and bits of bark that trees drop on the ground. It dries out fast, and it catches embers easily. A thick layer of duff against your walls, under your deck, or in a corner by the fence is exactly what a wind-blown ember is looking for.
- Rake it up regularly, especially before and during fire season.
- Keep it away from your house, decks, stairs, and fences.
- Clear your roof and gutters too. Duff collects up there just as easily.
What You Need to Know
- Check your local laws. Defensible-space and brush-clearance rules vary by city, county, and fire district.
- Yard work is your first layer. Your equipment is the layer behind it, ready if an ember gets through anyway.
- Follow evacuation orders. A clean yard reduces risk. It doesn't replace leaving when you're told to go.
It's insanity not to be prepared.
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Sherwin Ross is the founder of Ace Fire Defense, based in West Hills, CA. After the 2018 Woolsey Fire, he became CERT-trained and started building wildfire defense equipment for homeowners.