Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Homeowners in close proximity to wildlands are at greatest risk of property damage from wildfires. A firewise landscape won’t stop flames, but it could slow them long enough to allow families to escape safely.

13— That means selecting our plants and landscaping materials, as well as some of our outbuildings and structures associated with our home, in a way that will help reduce the probability of a wildfire having catastrophic results for us.

Mark Klym coordinates the Wildscapes program for Parks and Wildlife. He says what you plant on your property, and where you plant it, makes all the difference during a wildfire.

25— You definitely don’t want anything that’s highly explosive or that ignites very easily close to your home. Some examples would be cedar, or any of our holly plants – which a lot of people want right up against their house. And the firefighter’s nickname for holly is “green gas” – it’s very explosive. So, you want to avoid that type of plant around your home. You also want to avoid anything that might ignite at ground level and carry the fire to your roof.

Mark Klym’s wrote an article about firewise landscaping for the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

Funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas parks and Wildlife …I’m Cecilia Nasti.