Sherwood Fire District is a Firewise Community. This designation may mean a reduction in your homeowner’s insurance rate, but the bigger picture is that your neighbors in Sherwood Forest Estates and Mountain Rose Ranch Estates are working hard to make it safer to live in our community surrounded by the beautiful ponderosa pines of Kaibab National Forest and Arizona State Trust Lands.
To become (and remain) a Firewise Community, the residents of a community must donate time that contributes to wildfire safety. As a community we encourage everyone to rake pine needles and haul them to Moonset Pit. We staff Moonset Pit with volunteers from the neighborhood. Finally, we have Firewise Information Days where we work to inform neighbors about wildfire safety. Each hour spent on these activities helps us to earn the Firewise designation.
The National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Communities/USA® program is teaching homeowners how to adapt to living with wildfire. The Firewise program’s goal is to reduce the loss of lives, properties, and resources to wildland fire by building and maintaining communities in a way that is compatible with our natural surroundings. Some of the reported benefits to becoming a Firewise Community include: lower insurance rates, information on how to protect your home from wildland fires and a better knowledge on what to do in the event of a forest fire.
Further information about Firewise can be found at the Firewise website: www.firewise.org
Before a wildfire threatens your area…
In and around your home
- Clear leaves and other debris from gutters, eaves, porches and decks. This prevents embers from igniting your home.
- Remove dead vegetation and other items from under your deck or porch, and within 10 feet of the house.
- Screen or box in areas below patios and decks with wire mesh to prevent debris and combustible materials from accumulating.
- Remove flammable materials (firewood stacks, propane tanks) within 30 feet of your home’s foundation and outbuildings, including garages and sheds. If it can catch fire, don’t let it touch your house, deck or porch.
- Wildfire can spread to tree tops. Prune trees so the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet from the ground.
- Inspect shingles or roof tiles. Replace or repair those that are loose or missing to prevent ember penetration.
- Cover exterior attic vents with metal wire mesh no larger than 1/8 inch to prevent sparks from entering the home.
- Enclose under-eave and soffit vents or screens with metal mesh to prevent ember entry.
Firewise Links
Firewise Landscape 2017 Winners
