Yard with fallen tree logs and stumps, near a white shed, in a wooded area with pine trees and a cloudy sky.

Home Ignition Zone

Through decades of research on home destruction by wildfire, USFS Fire scientist Jack Cohen created the concept of the “Home Ignition Zone”. The Home Ignition Zone is an area that includes your home and the surrounding property. It is broken down into three zones which require varying degrees of treatment.

Illustration of a yard demonstrating a safety zone around a house with color-coded zones: red for immediate zone, orange for intermediate zone, and yellow for extended zone, showing a driveway, garage, garden, children’s playset, and trees.

Zone 1 — Immediate Zone (0ft - 5ft). 

This zone is the first 5 feet surrounding your home. No vegetation should be present here and the ground should be non-combustible material such as gravel, sand or bare earth. Treatment for Zone 1 includes tasks such as clearing pine needles, leaves or other debris from gutters, roofs, under eaves, and decks.

Zone 2 — Intermediate Zone (5ft - 30ft)

This zone starts after the first 5 feet around your structure and extends to 30 feet, in this zone the goal is to greatly reduce the amount of fuel which will help reduce fire intensity along with the chance of your structure igniting due to radiant heat. The remaining trees have at least a 10ft crown spacing, shrubs and bushes have been removed, trees are pruned 6 - 8ft up to prevent ladder fuels,and grasses must also be cut to 4 inches or less. Additionally, avoid piles of logs and firewood (especially stacking against structures/under eaves).


Zone 3 — Extended zone (30ft - 100ft) 

This zone extended past Zone 2 to 100ft from the structure. The goal of this zone is to be a fire break, this helps reduce fire intensity, keeps it on the ground and out of the crowns of trees. An added benefit of Zone 3 is it will help to improve forest health by limiting competition for nutrients, allowing the remaining trees to flourish.

A sunny, mountainous landscape with scattered pine trees and grassy terrain, with a bright sky and sunlight streaming through the trees.
A forest scene with tall pine trees, sunlight filtering through branches, and dry grass and shrubs on the forest floor.
A snowy hillside with pine trees, a chain saw on the ground, and a residential house in the background, under an overcast sky.
Snow-covered ground with pine trees and some buildings in a forested area during a snowy, overcast day.

Boulder and other counties offer rebates, grants, and other incentives to have wildfire mitigation work completed on your home and property.

Contact J&J to learn more!