By Mel Crichton EBS COLUMNIST
It’s late summer, and the evergreens are showing some yellow. That’s normal for this time of year, as older needles nearer to the tree trunk die to allow more nutrients to the newer needles at the branch ends. As the old needles fall off, sometimes in large quantities in our summer winds and storms, they collect in the same places that airborne embers would collect when there’s an active wildfire nearby. Shocking news—they have an affinity for your roof’s gutters.
Fortunately our recent rains have radically dropped the potential fuel Energy Release Component to lower than average for early September. But we still face another month of traditional wildfire season, and a dry spell could bring the ERC back up to dangerous high levels, as it was in mid-August. So we need to be aware of the needles in our gutters, and if we see a spate of Red Flag days, we would be wise to schedule our fall gutter cleaning a few weeks sooner.
Here in wildfire country, we should clean our gutters at least twice a year. Cleaning in the fall will minimize ice dams in the winter and prepare homes for heavy runoff from spring rains. But we need to clean again at the start of fire season—usually June—to remove potential fuels like fallen needles that can ignite and spread to the underside of our roofing.
Some folks have no gutters, an approach that’s looking more attractive to an old guy who doesn’t like ladders, but gutters do help divert roof runoff away from places you don’t want a deluge,like above decks and doorways, and in puddles that can seep into basements.
Gutter cleaning is a task I try to avoid. I fashioned an extension for my leaf blower that is heavy, cumbersome and no fun to use. It has a hooked “nozzle” that can blow needles out of the gutter and shower them onto me. It’s a mess, but it works,somewhat. Some needles can blow back onto the roof. But it’s better than risking my neck 12 feet up on a ladder.
A few commercial leaf guards for gutters claim to be effective for pine needles. Costs range from $2 -4 dollars a foot, uninstalled. But installation requires more ladder work, and it won’t be cheap to hire it out,because this time somebody else is risking their neck. Plus, the jury is still out as to how effective they are in the long run. It’s up to you to weigh the risks and costs of gutter cleaning and leaf guards, but maintaining your gutters is important to a fire resilient home.
There’s one other firewise fall activity. If you are fire aware, you’ve moved your firewood stack at least 30 feet away from structures during fire season. Good for you! In late October, it will likely be safe to bring some of that wood closer to the house for winter access. But be sure to move it back out to a safe distance come June.
If you have gutters and wood piles, consider their maintenance a small price for living here. It can be a nuisance, but foregoing cleaning and proper storage can lead to trouble if an ember fire starts in them. Part of being firewise is preventing spot fires long before they begin , especially within the first 5 feet from a structure. That’s the zone where your gutters are, and, sadly too often, risky wood piles.
Mel Crichton acts as neighborhood ambassador coordinator for Fire Adapted Big Sky. He may be reached at kj9c@comcast.net.
