How branches over chimneys can burn your house down.

Photo by Nikola Johnny Mirkovic on Unsplash

Everyone loves their fireplaces in the fall, and the sign of a chimney puffing out smoke on a fall day genuinely is the hallmark of cozy fall and winter seasons everywhere.

But, branches NEAR your chimney can get your house a little too cozy with wildfire.

Let’s see how it sparks out: if a fire is coming near your property and spreads up a tree, branches near the chimney can spread the fire. Even if your home has ignition resistant siding and a metal roof, a branch on fire can deliver heaps of fire brands and other embers DIRECTLY into your home.

So, even if you protect your home from the outside, if you don’t protect openings like chimneys, vents, and more, embers can travel down through your chimney and start a fire in your home, burning it from the inside out.

I’m guessing that’s not the fuzzy fall fire vibes we were hoping for. So, just to be safe, make sure no branches come close to your chimney (and better yet, don’t have any overhanging branches on top of your roof). Not only does that protect you from fires, it makes sure in the event of other natural disasters that branches don’t penetrate your roof and cause an unplanned skylight.

Removing the branches can be done by calling a vegetation management contractor, DIYed using a chainsaw or a sawzall, or you can just leave a nice note on the front of your tree asking fire to not come up (just kidding, complete defensible space work for real protection).

Looking to learn more about what parts of your home would turn into a California bonfire? Take our assessment at assessment.faura.us to get a more in-depth assessment that breaks down what you can do into action items, with the right contractors for the job and more.