Firescaping Your Home

This hardworking, actionable guide is a must-have for homeowners looking to mitigate the risk of wildfire spreading to their homes and property.

Wildfires have become an unavoidable part of life in the West, and many are burning more intensely over a longer fire season due to climate change and extensive drought. At the same time, more people are choosing to live adjacent to fire-prone wildlands, meaning we need to make our property and communities overall more resistant to wildfire.

Firescaping Your Home will help readers minimize wildfire risks by recommending simple, actionable steps every homeowner should use to mitigate fire damage risk. It includes specific recommendations, examples, and resources for hardening your house, planting and yard maintenance, with an emphasis on how using native plants—which are already ecologically adapted to natural fire regimes—can help strike a balance between human presence and preserving natural habitat. Firescaping Your Home is a comprehensive and essential resource for all Western homeowners.

About the Author

Adrienne Edwards, PhD, is a botanist, plant ecologist, garden designer, environmental consultant, and teacher. She began her botanical odyssey in the Southeast, spent time botanizing in the Midwest, and since 2006 has lived and worked in northern California. With over 30 years of experience teaching, doing environmental research, and consulting, plants continue to drive her passions. She is currently a faculty lecturer at California State University, Chico.

Rachel Schleiger, MS, is a plant ecologist who specializes in restoration ecology. She has lived in the WUI most of her life. Her family and property survived the most deadly and destructive fire on record, the 2018 Camp Fire. Over the last 3 years she has developed curriculum to teach about wildfire, both in-person and online through Butte College. She is currently a faculty lecturer at both Butte College and California State University, Chico.