Vents
Attic, soffit, and foundation vents let embers inside, where nothing will stop them. Cover with metal mesh 1/8 inch or finer — never fiberglass or plastic — or fit listed ember-resistant vents.
Defensible space · Home hardening · Landscapes
Prepare your home
Two things decide whether a house survives a wildfire: what the house is made of where embers land, and what is burning within about a hundred feet of it. Both are things a homeowner controls.
Start with embers, not flames
A wildfire throws burning material well ahead of itself — sometimes more than a mile. Those embers arrive as a shower, find something that will catch, and start a new fire at the house. Most structures lost in wildfires across the country are ignited this way rather than by direct contact with the fire front.
That is good news, because it means the work is specific and finishable. You are not trying to fireproof a house against a wall of flame. You are removing the handful of places an ember can succeed.
Travis County's version of the problem
Ashe juniper — cedar — carries fire readily, holds dead material inside the canopy, and grows right up against houses across the county. Steep canyon slopes push fire uphill fast toward the homes on the rim. Long dry spells cure the grass in between. The mitigation below is standard national practice; the fuel it is aimed at here is mostly cedar, oak litter, and grass.
Defensible space, by zone
Distance from the house is what sets the priority. Work outward, and do not move to the next zone until the one before it is done.
0–5 feet
Immediate zone
The highest-value work on the whole property, and the part most often skipped. Target: nothing here will carry a flame to the wall.
- Remove bark mulch, dead plants, and dry leaves against the foundation
- Move firewood, propane tanks, and stored lumber well away
- Clear out from under decks and stairs; screen the openings
- Use gravel, pavers, or bare soil instead of combustible ground cover
- Keep doormats, cushions, and trash bins off this strip on red-flag days
5–30 feet
Intermediate zone
Break up the fuel so fire cannot run continuously toward the house or climb into the canopy.
- Keep grass mowed short; water it if watering is permitted
- Space shrubs apart in islands rather than continuous beds
- Limb up trees so the lowest branches are 6–10 feet off the ground
- Keep tree canopies about 10 feet apart, more on a slope
- Move play structures, sheds, and fences made of wood out of contact with vegetation
30–100 feet
Extended zone
The goal shifts from removing fuel to slowing fire and dropping it out of the treetops before it reaches the intermediate zone.
- Thin dense cedar; remove dead standing and downed material
- Clear fallen leaves and needles to a depth of no more than 3 inches
- Extend the distance downslope — fire moves uphill much faster
- Keep driveways and access clear so apparatus can reach the house
Property lines rarely match fuel. If cedar runs from your lot into the greenbelt or a neighbor's, your work stops where theirs begins. This is exactly why the county's neighborhoods organize — see Firewise communities.
Hardening the house itself
Some of this is a weekend; some is what you choose next time a component gets replaced anyway. Both count.
Roof and gutters
A Class A roof is the standard. Keep gutters, valleys, and roof-to-wall junctions clear of cedar litter and leaves, and close any gaps at the edge of the roof covering.
Eaves and soffits
Open eaves trap rising embers and heat. Enclosing them with noncombustible or ignition-resistant material removes the trap.
Windows
Glass usually fails before the wall does, and then the fire is inside. Multi-pane windows with at least one tempered pane hold up far better under radiant heat.
Decks and fences
A wooden fence that touches the house is a fuse leading to it. Use a noncombustible section — metal or masonry — for the last five feet, and keep the space under decks clear and screened.
Siding and skirting
Maintain at least 6 inches of noncombustible material at the base of the wall, and close gaps where siding meets the foundation.
Building or remodeling in Austin? The city's Wildland-Urban Interface code sets requirements for construction in mapped WUI areas — worth reading before design, not after. Austin WUI code
Landscapes and brush disposal
A fire-resilient yard in Central Texas is not a gravel lot. It is spacing, maintenance, and the right plant in the right place.
What actually makes a plant risky
Condition beats species. A well-watered, pruned, dead-wood-free shrub resists ignition; the same species left dry and cluttered does not. That said, avoid resinous, oily, and fine-needled plants close to the house, and keep dead material cleared out of what you do plant.
Where to put the cuttings
A pile of cut cedar is more dangerous than the standing tree was. Move debris off the property rather than stacking it at the lot line. Austin residents can schedule brush collection through the city; county residents should check with their ESD or a commercial hauler, and neighborhood chipper days are often the cheapest route. Austin Resource Recovery
Trees near power lines
Do not prune these yourself. Utilities manage vegetation in their easements and will handle clearance around their lines on request. Austin Energy
Burning your own brush
Outdoor burning is restricted much of the year and prohibited outright under a burn ban. Check the county's current order before lighting anything, every time. Burn ban status
Then do the two things a checklist can't
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Get an assessment of your actual property
Generic advice takes you a long way; someone standing in your yard takes you further. Ask your fire department or ESD what home assessments they offer, or raise it through a Firewise group.
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Plan how you would leave
Defensible space buys a house a chance. It does not decide whether the people inside get out, and in much of this county that is the harder problem. Evacuation planning →