Which practice best promotes a defensible space around a home?

• A. Plant high-flammability species near the structure.
• B. Prune to a safe height, remove dead wood, and follow professional guidelines to avoid excessive pruning and tree stress.
• C. Remove all trees within 10 feet of the home.
• D. Leave fallen leaves and debris on the ground around the home.

Answer: (B)

Creating a defensible space is about reducing the fuels immediately around the home so a wildfire is more controllable and less likely to reach the structure. The best practice shown emphasizes pruning vegetation to a safe height, removing dead wood, and following professional guidelines to avoid excessive pruning and tree stress. This combination lowers ladder fuels—branches that can carry fire from the ground into the canopy—while keeping healthy landscape features intact. It also avoids harming trees through over-pruning, which can weaken them and create other safety or health issues. By contrast, planting high-flammability species near the structure increases nearby fuel; removing all trees within a small zone can be impractical and removes beneficial shade and landscape function; and leaving fallen leaves or debris around the home adds readily available fuel for embers.