In the Yampa Valley, defensible space is work you do before there is smoke

Many Routt County homes sit where houses meet forest and brush, in the timbered slopes and sagebrush benches around the Yampa Valley. That setting is part of the appeal, and it is also why wildfire is a normal thing to plan for here.

The idea behind defensible space is simple: give a fire less to burn close to the house. That means thinning and spacing trees and shrubs, clearing dead branches and needles, and keeping the area right next to the home, the home ignition zone, as free of flammable material as you can. Roofs, decks, gutters, and the first few feet around the foundation matter as much as the trees on the lot.

None of this is something to start when smoke is already in the air. It is yard work and planning done in calm weather, season after season. Beetle-killed and dense stands of trees in the high country can add to the fuel, which is one reason forest health and home safety go together here.

If you own or are buying a home in the wildland edges of Routt County, learn the home ignition zone and build defensible space early. The Colorado State Forest Service explains how to do it for a Colorado property.