In January 2025, the Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena, burning over 14,000 acres and destroying over 9,400 structures. News Outlets like The Dirt later confirmed that a smart “landscape approach”—careful planning of vegetation buffers and home hardening—can significantly slow wildfire spread and protect neighborhoods. Wildfires are well, wild. If a flame catches the edge of your property, everything connected to it becomes part of the fuel line.
That includes wood chips, dry plants, old fencing, and even that cute little shrub touching the porch. Landscaping is much more than looks when you’re in fire-prone areas; it’s a defensive move. How you space your plants, choose your materials, and manage clutter can slow a fire down or stop it cold before it reaches your walls.
Here’s how to mindfully firescape your yard to give piece of mind during a heat wave, storm, and fire season.
1. Use Hardscaping as a Fire Barrier

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Walkways, gravel beds, and concrete patios are more than aesthetic breaks. They interrupt the path of fire. A patch of stone doesn’t give flames anything to eat, which makes it a solid first line of defense.
Laying wide, non-flammable materials around your house creates a buffer that fire can’t jump easily. Concrete, decomposed granite, and crushed rock work especially well in high-risk zones. Expand the barrier zones to cover areas under eaves, along fences, and around decks.
2. Get Obsessive About Clearing Debris

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Keep your yard clear, for your mind and your safety. But, don’t stop at the lawn. Look up. Tree limbs hanging over your roof or brushing against power lines are big risks. Cut them back. Clear ten feet from chimneys, and stay on top of tree shedding cycles. If it feels like yard work never ends, you may be right, but it may be the difference between keeping your house and losing it.
3. Replace The Flammable Plants
Some plants look innocent, but burn like cardboard doused in lighter fluid. Juniper, Italian cypress, eucalyptus, and rosemary are popular, but they’re packed with oils and resins that catch fire quickly and burn hot. They also tend to grow dense, which traps heat and makes things worse.
Replace these with plants with high moisture content, thick leaves, and low resin levels, such as succulents, manzanita, rockrose, and lavender. They aren’t fireproof, but they’re way less likely to explode in flames. Group them with space in between to reduce heat transfer. Keep them green and well-watered. If a fire does get close, you want it running into damp, slow-burning plants, not bush-shaped live torches.
4. Prune Your Trees and Shrubs Regularly

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Overgrown trees and tangled shrubs help fire climb from ground to rooftops fast and furious. This is called ladder fuel, and it’s a fire’s favorite gym routine. Your job is to break that path. Trim trees so the lowest branches are at least six feet above the ground, or higher if the surrounding vegetation is taller. Shrubs under trees should be spaced out and trimmed low so fire has nowhere to go but out.
Pruning also stops your yard from becoming one giant blob of flammable mass. Space out plants both vertically and horizontally. Dense vegetation may look lush, but it’s a fire risk waiting to happen. Aim for open space between plant groups, especially near structures. The more gaps you create, the more you slow down heat and flame.
5. Switch to Fire-Resistant Mulch

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Wood mulch is popular, but it lights up fast and smolders for hours. During a fire, embers can land in it and spark up long before the main flame front arrives. That makes it a problem, especially within five feet of buildings. Instead, use gravel or decomposed granite.
It’s understandable if you love the look of bark or wood mulch, but push it out farther from the house and keep it moist. Never let it pile up too thick. A two-inch layer is enough. Anything more and you’re making a fire bed. Also, check it regularly during dry seasons. It breaks down and gets fluffier over time, which makes it easier to ignite.
6. Break Up Your Fence Line

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Wood fences can act like a fuse running straight to your house. Fire hits the fence at one end, runs along it, and reaches your structure faster than expected. One way to stop that is by replacing the section of fencing that touches your home with non-combustible material such as metal, concrete, or even a simple gate made of fire-resistant materials.
Another fix is to create gaps. A break in the fence line, even a small one made with metal posts or stone, can disrupt a fire’s path. If you’re building a new fence and have to use wood, space the boards apart so they don’t create a solid wall of fuel.
7. Install Ember-Resistant Vents

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It may sound very “final-destination”, but embers can blow through your vents and light your attic on fire from the inside. Standard vents have openings wide enough to let burning debris slip through, especially during wind-driven fires. Swap them out for ember-resistant versions with 1/8-inch metal mesh.
These block airborne embers and slow down air flow, which lowers the odds of internal ignition. Focus on crawl space vents, attic vents, and any under-deck openings. If new vents aren’t in your budget, cover existing ones with fine mesh screens as a temporary fix.
8. Keep Grass Short, Or Don’t Have It

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Tall grass is fire fuel, plain and simple. Dry blades catch fast and spread faster, especially in the wind. Once it’s more than four inches, you’re giving fire something to ride on. Keep lawns trimmed low—three inches max—and cut them more often during dry seasons.
If grass doesn’t serve a purpose in your yard, skip it entirely. Use ground covers that stay low, stay green, and don’t dry out into kindling. Some drought-tolerant ground covers are also fire-resistant, which gives you double coverage without the sprinkler bill.
9. Store Firewood Far from The House

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Firewood belongs far from any structure. That innocent-looking pile on the porch or beside the garage is a massive, flammable cube of stacked fuel. Keep woodpiles at least 30 feet away from buildings and off the ground. A metal rack or concrete slab works better than stacking directly on soil or against fences.
Cover the pile with a non-combustible tarp or fire-resistant cover. Don’t let leaves or dry grass gather around it. If fire hits a woodpile, it burns hot and long. And if it’s pressed against your house, that’s heat transfer with no barrier in between.
10. Choose Non-Combustible Outdoor Furniture

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Wicker chairs and wooden benches look great, but they burn fast and help fire move across patios. Opt for metal, stone, or heavy-duty plastic that doesn’t ignite easily. During fire season, swap out fabric cushions for fire-retardant versions or bring them inside when not in use.
Outdoor accessories also count. Umbrellas, rugs, and shade sails made of untreated cloth are hazards. If embers drop, these catch first. A “cute backyard vibe” is not worth turning your deck into a bonfire.
11. Cover Exposed Eaves and Soffits

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Open eaves act like scoops for heat and embers. When flames get close, exposed wood under the roof edges lights up fast. Cover them with solid, non-combustible materials like fiber cement or metal flashing. This helps to seal gaps and shield wood from radiant heat.
If you can’t fully cover eaves, treat exposed parts with fire-resistant paint or coatings made for exterior wood. It’s not a substitute for real protection, but it can buy you a few more minutes in a worst-case scenario.
12. Avoid Clustered Containers and Potted Plants

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Pots grouped too close together turn into mini fuel piles. Terracotta and ceramic don’t burn, but what’s inside them does. Dry soil, mulch, and root-bound plants in containers can catch fire quickly if embers land there. Keep space between pots, especially on wooden decks or balconies.
Use saucers to catch runoff and prevent soil from drying out too fast. Better yet, place pots on non-flammable surfaces like gravel or stone patios instead of flammable deck boards. If the pots are decorative but dead inside, dump them before fire season kicks in.
13. Use Raised Beds with Non-Flammable Borders

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Raised beds framed in wood can smolder if embers land on them. If you’re going to build them, use concrete blocks, stone, or metal. These materials don’t ignite and won’t carry fire across the yard. They also stay cooler in heat waves, which keeps your plants happier anyway.
Elevated beds also make it easier to control what goes inside them. Use soil with higher moisture content and avoid topping them with wood chips. Keep the area around them clear.
14. Rethink Lighting And Solar Decor

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Those cute solar-powered lights lining your path? If they’re plastic or wrapped in flammable fabric, they’re a problem. During extreme heat or ember storms, even outdoor-rated items can melt or burn. Metal-bodied lights are safer, and they won’t feed a flame if things go south.
Avoid string lights with fabric cords, especially in trees or over patios. If you use lighting near mulch or plants, keep cords elevated and away from anything dry. Fire doesn’t care how aesthetic your setup is—it’ll burn it all the same.
15. Create A Wide Driveway And Access Paths

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A narrow driveway lined with hedges or overhanging trees makes it harder for fire trucks to get in—and easier for flames to spread. Widen the area around your driveway by clearing brush and trimming branches. This isn’t just for the fire’s benefit—it could save time when emergency crews show up.
Keep at least 10 feet of clearance overhead and on each side. Make sure the surface isn’t flammable—dirt, gravel, or concrete are fine. And don’t plant highly flammable species along the edges. If fire crews can’t get through, your landscaping decisions start to matter even more.
Careful Calculations

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Your landscaping choices could affect your insurance. In wildfire zones, some companies inspect yards and calculate risk based on vegetation, spacing, and materials. A yard packed with dry brush and oil-rich plants might mean higher premiums or denial of coverage. On the flip side, fire-conscious landscaping could get you a discount or keep you covered when others aren’t.
Before you go digging or planting again, check your local fire codes. Many places have strict defensible space laws and restrictions on what you can plant near structures. In some cases, breaking those rules could lead to fines or worse, denial of fire damage claims.