Here’s a checklist on how to improve your landscaping from CalFire at www.fire.ca.gov:

Create a defensible space of one hundred feet around your home. It is required by law.

Create a "lean, clean, green zone" by removing all flammable vegetation within thirty feet surrounding your home

Create a "reduced fuel zone" in the remaining seventy feet or to your property line.

You have two options in this area:

A. Create horizontal and vertical spacing between plants. The amount of space will depend on how steep your property is and the size of your plants.

B. Large trees do not have to be removed as long as all of the plants beneath them are removed.

Remove lower tree branches at least six feet from the ground

Landscape with fire resistant plants

Maintain all plants with regular water, and keep dead braches, leaves, and needles removed.

When clearing vegetation, use care when operating equipment such as lawnmowers. One small spark may start a fire; a string trimmer is much safer.

Stack woodpiles at least thirty feet from all structures and remove vegetation within ten feet of woodpiles.

Locate LPG tanks (butane and propane) at least thirty feet from any structure and maintain ten feet of clearance.

Remove all stacks of construction materials, pine needles, leaves, and other debris from your yard.

For other ways to protect your home from fire, visit www.fire.ca.gov