INSURANCE
Know Your Wildfire Zones
Follow these proactive steps to help safeguard your home against wildfires.
By Waheeda Harris
WE TRY TO PROTECT OUR HOMES from the many different elements that nature can throw at us — rain, snow, high winds and more — but in the past few years we’ve seen a significant number of wildfires in the news, an important reminder that wildfires are a considerable concern. According to a release by Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, in 2024 there were 470 wildfires that burned down close to 90,000 hectares of land in Ontario. As wildfire season starts, homeowners looking to protect their properties are well-advised to learn the risk factors and become proactive.
KNOW YOUR ZONES
CAA Insurance Company offers practical recommendations to help you assess your home’s wildfire risk and take action to reduce potential threats. Assess your home and review its zones, which may include red, orange and yellow. Each zone spans a specific distance surrounding your home and each has a proactive maintenance protocol that can help reduce the impact of wildfire.
RED ZONE | your home and a perimeter of 1.5 metres
HOME MAINTENANCE TASKS:
- Clean gutters of leaves, branches and debris.
- Ensure roof is clear of leaves and branches.
- Make sure roof vents have screens.
- Check that soffits (the underside of the roof overhang), and fascias (the vertical boards that support the gutter) have no gaps.
- Don’t store patio furniture, brooms and doormats underneath deck.
- Install fire-resistant fibre cement board or metal screening underneath deck and balcony, and enclose them to prevent debris from accumulating, which may create an ignition risk.
- Place a spark arrester atop the chimney to prevent embers or sparks from a wood-burning fireplace from escaping.
- Separate wood fencing or a boardwalk from your home with a metal gate to prevent fire flow.
ORANGE ZONE | 1.5 to 10 metres from your home
PREVENTIVE HOME UPGRADES:
- Keep grass shorter than 10 centimetres.
- Remove leaves, branches and debris from the yard, including combustible shrubs under trees.
- Trim trees regularly, ensuring no contact with power lines overhead.
- Opt for fire-resistant plants with less sap or resin, such as creeping thyme and lavender.
YELLOW ZONE | 10 to 30 metres from your home
GARDEN TIPS TO REDUCE FIRE RISK:
- Firewood is highly flammable and should be stored 10 to 30 metres away from your home, or in a fireproof structure.
- Plant trees so that branches of neighbouring trees are at least three metres apart from each other.
- Trees should be pruned regularly to remove any branches that are within two metres of the ground.
- Any shrubs or flammable debris should be removed from the ground area.
- Plant deciduous trees like poplar, birch, aspen, cottonwood, maple and ash.
- Avoid planting spruce, fir, pine and cedar.
There are other ways to help homeowners safeguard against wildfire. These may be elements to consider as part of a renovation and may come at a more significant cost. These include the use of materials that are non-flammable, have a high fire-resistant rating or effectively slow or stop a fire from spreading to the envelope of your home (the continuous barrier around it or other structures that separate indoor and outdoor spaces).
- Install fire-rated entry and garage doors.
- Install thermal or tempered glass in windows.
- Upgrade roof to Class A fire-rated material, such as metal, clay, asphalt or composite rubber.
- Choose fire-resistant siding, like stucco, metal, brick and fibre cement.
- Upgrade sheds and outbuildings on property to prevent fire. CAA
This content is intended to provide general information only and is not intended to provide legal or professional advice, or to be relied on in any dispute, claim, action, demand or proceeding. CAA Insurance Company does not accept liability for any damage or injury resulting from reliance on this information.