D-Space Can Save Your Dream Place

Owning a home nestled in the woods is a dream for many, but a wildfire can quickly turn that dream into a nightmare. Since the early pioneers started building cabins in the forest, loss of property and life due to wildfire has been a serious concern.


In the early 1990’s Summit County became the first local government in Colorado to attach defensible space to its building code. Meeting the wildfire mitigation requirements is requisite to obtain the final Certificate of Occupancy. Eagle County followed a few years later with a County Wild Fire Protection Plan and amended their building codes with considerations for wildfire risk reduction.

Research by the US and Canadian Forest Services show that a judiciously designed and constructed defensible space can be the difference between a beautiful mountain home surrounded by green trees and a pile of ashes. In the 1980’s I was a squad boss on a 20 man interagency fire crew. One of the hottest fires we worked was in a subdivision near Red Feather Lakes in Northern Colorado. The fuel type was very similar to Summit and Eagle Counties with dense lodgepole pine trees and very little understory. About 10 years later I saw a Colorado State Forest Service publication on the benefits of defensible space; On the cover was a house that survived this fire. What hit me were the obvious concentric circles of fire damage. 200 feet from the house all of the trees were black and torched. Then at about 100 feet this gave way to a mix of torched and scorched trees (dead but with brown needles). Near the home green trees were thriving. More importantly, the home and the occupants were still intact.


A common misconception of an effective defensible space is that it requires a 30 foot clear-cut around a structure. Untrue says Red White and Blue Fire Protections District Wildland Specialist, Matt Benedict, “A good D-Space is created by considering the fuel type, building material and natural features that will affect fire behavior. When the fuel modification is complete the tree stand should have a thinned but natural appearance.”

Several insurance companies are now requiring that wildfire mitigation measures are implemented around mountain homes. Homeowners that choose not to create a defensible space are being threatened with discontinuation of their homeowners insurance. Besides wildfire risk reduction, a well designed defensible space developed by a professional forester using state of the art tactics can improve the esthetic value of the home and potentially the livability and usefulness of your outdoor space.