Possibly. Plants can be made less of a fire hazard through proper maintenance and management. Pruning can reduce plant height, reduce the amount of live and dead vegetation available for burning, and separate plants and structures. Raking can remove dead leaves, while irrigation can increase the amount of moisture contained in the plant. All of these actions can make a plant less of a fire hazard. Whether these actions are sufficient to reduce the hazard posed by the plant is often a judgment call by your defensible space inspector.
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Instead of removing the whole plant, such as a juniper, can I just prune it and thin it out?
Last Updated: October 02, 2009
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