we are building in the heavily forested Ozarks which has had much damage from this winter's ice storms. Many trees are down and will be tinder this coming August. Plans are being made to clear the forest floor of this fire hazard but realisticly it will not all be cleared. My concern centers on the pole buildings we are building on steep hillsides. A wildfire coming up one of these hills toward a building would be practically unstoppable. What I would like to know is, does anyone have information about plant species that are fire resistant and affordable that could cover the slopes below our buildings? I know this is not a solution for this year's fire season but I would like to take steps toward preventing future problems.

-- John Fritz (JohnFritz24@hotmail.com), March 01, 2001

Answers

most native plants from a fire prone area,, keep the grasses down and keep a good fire break from the forest, Id say, at least a hundred feet

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 02, 2001.

Contact your local state forestry officer for on-site advice. Also, metal sides and roofing would go a long way to prevent fires spread by sparks.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), March 02, 2001.

Hi,

There is an article in one of the past few months 'Landscape Architecture' magazine about natural firebreaks. Maybe your library has a copy.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), March 02, 2001.

There are many things you can do to prevent the fire from being as damaging as it could... Its a big BIG deal here in ID after last summer!!! They have been having seminars, news items on tv, etc. for the past two months.

First: clear the area as much as possible.... 50 feet in each direction from the building should be plain dirt... Perhaps longer on the upsloping side. If there is anything at all growing there, it should be a: a species containing lots of water (blue grass - not rye or fescue) b: no taller than two inches from the dirt.

After the first fifty yards, it is safe to have some deciduous vegetation - especially if they are also waterlovers.

Two hundred yards for trees.... and forget about evergreens!!! They will explode before they burn.

Here is a really out of the world idea.... if you are not planning on building with concrete blocks, the next best thing is straw-bale. Yes... Strawbale. It doesn't burn. Really. They have done extensive fire testing. Check out the info - you could actually save whatever is in those buildings even if the fire runs right over top!!!

Of course, you also have to do the stucco finish of mud, etc. But, these buildings are better insulated, structurally sound enough to be quake resistant, resilient, flexible and quite safe. Check into it - depending on where you get your blocks, it could also be cheaper!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 02, 2001.