Many large wildfires have been stopped around vineyards, fields and orchards. This is because agricultural fields are often irrigated or include roads, well-maintained vegetation, and other natural fire breaks. However, there are steps that can be taken to decrease the amount of damage done to agricultural crops and the surrounding agricultural infrastructure. Below are recommended actions you can take to protect your crops, vineyards, and orchards.
Equipment Storage
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- If you have a hardened structure large enough to accommodate your equipment, store those machines in the hardened structure.
- When wildfire is approaching, if you don’t have a large enough building, or have not made structure hardening upgrades yet, park equipment in a large area that is clear of vegetation (e.g., bare soil, concrete, or gravel).
- Leave space between each piece of equipment in case one ignites.
- Check each piece of equipment for any vegetation that might have collected on or under during operation and for fuel or other flammable liquid leaks.
- Keep windows and doors closed to keep embers out or cover with a fire-resistant tarp.
Fences
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- Wood fences, as well as the dry grasses along any fence line, have the potential to carry fire.
- Keep all fences clear of brush, grass or other vegetation, and where fences are near to structures, do not plant vegetation along the fence.
- Wooden fences have the most potential to ignite and carry fire.
- A fence with wood posts and a metal wire is not likely to transmit the fire, but the individual wood posts may be damaged during a wildfire.
Fields, Vineyards, and Orchards
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- To help protect against embers, maintain infrastructure and keep natural or cover crop vegetation to a minimum height during fire season in the alleys through either mowing or grazing.
- Hoops, poly tunnels and plastic covers should be kept free of vegetation along the edges.
- Some crops need space between the rows such as citrus orchards, vineyards, and other row crops which helps with fire protection by maintaining lines of sight and discontinuity of fuels.
- For crops like avocado orchards that are densely planted and need the mulch layer, consider creating blocks that are separated by roads that can act as fire breaks.
Hay and Crop Storage
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- Hay and crop storage containers can be receptive fuel beds for embers.
- If possible, move hay to enclosed buildings, or consider hardening your hay barns.
- If you must store hay outside, stack neatly on bare mineral soil, gravel, or a concrete pad with defensible space around the stacks.
- For large amounts of hay, think about different locations on the property to store them so not everything is together, mitigating the risk of losing the entire inventory.
Roads
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- Keep vegetation to a minimum height immediately adjacent to roads and maintain bare mineral soil or rock/gravel on roads that have potential to serve as a holding resource in case of a wildfire.
- Work with local fire departments to share information about your road transportation network, access and gate locations, turn-around locations, and where there may be road width barriers or bridges with weight restrictions that could limit their access.
Additional Resources
Check out these additional defensible space-related resources from UC ANR Fire Network Members and our colleagues!