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MO’s Defensible Space

@mosdefensiblespace

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Creating Fire-Smart Landscapes in the Truckee | Tahoe | Reno area.
CA Lic. # 1108920

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Let’s get back to basics! Understanding how homes ignite in a wildfire is the first step in understanding why defensible space is so important. Embers, embers, embers!
Now that we know up to 90% of structures are ignited by embers, it’s time to talk about what to do about it…queue defensible space!
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#truckee #tahoe #renotahoe #reno #landscapedesign #wildfire #firewise #gardening #smallbusiness #defensiblespace #wildfireprevention #reel #mythbust #naturaldisaster #paradisecalifornia #calfire #firesafe by @mosdefensiblespace

🔥 We wrote a book!! And it’s available for free on our website: www.MOsDefensibleSpace.com

Have you ever tried to explain wildfire or defensible space to a 7-year-old?

When we tried to describe our work to our nephew, we quickly realized how much context was missing—what wildfire is, why it happens, and how we can live more safely with it.

So, we created a book to help families talk about wildfire in an honest and empowering way. 🌲✨

This book introduces kids (and their grown-ups) to the idea that wildfire is natural—even beneficial—and that living in fire-prone places means we all have a role in keeping our homes and communities safer.

With simple language, fun illustrations, and real-world solutions, it replaces fear with understanding—and sparks action. 💪

🆓 Download the full book for free on our website
📚 Want a printed copy? We’re working with a local shop to make a limited run—send us an email and we’ll hook you up!

Let’s make fire conversations a little easier—and a lot more hopeful. ❤️‍🔥

#wildfireeducation #defensiblespace #kidsbooks #fireadaptedcommunities #wildfireawareness #truckeeca #mtnliving by @mosdefensiblespace

Thank YOU neighbors!! We are honored (and surprised) to find that we were in the top 1% of recommended businesses in the Truckee and North Lake Tahoe areas! We had no idea that this contest was taking place, and yet we somehow ended up taking the cake in two categories; landscaping and home services! So to anyone that has “faved” us, recommended us, or supported us in any shape or form, we sincerely appreciate you. We love creating fire-smart landscapes with our neighbors! And we can’t wait to get back out into the field next spring!
#neighborhoodFaves #firesmart #defensiblespace #wildfiremitigation #truckee #northlaketahoe #tahoecity #reno by @mosdefensiblespace

Part 3 in a 3 part series: In this clip from MO’s Defensible Space’s Forest Protection Forum, Olivia encourages us to design systems “that are meant to withstand, survive, and expect fire.”

In this forum, Michael and Olivia of MO's Defensible Space tell us that effective home hardening can include nature-based solutions. Olivia proposes a few nature-based ways people can protect their homes from fast fires. Here are some examples:

First, green firebreaks use high moisture content deciduous trees like aspens that can slow and stop the spread of fire by blocking embers.

Second, restoring wetlands through reintroducing beavers or by mimicking their dams creates areas that burn at super low intensity or don’t burn at all, and can slow or stop the spread of fire.

Third, biological soil crusts made of lichens, mosses, and cyanobacteria can inhibit the spread of highly flammable invasive grasses and serve as living fuel breaks around our communities.

These are just a few examples of ways homeowners can take action to protect their homes and their communities from urban conflagration.

Check out the full version of MO’s Defensible Space’s Forest Protection Forum on our YouTube here: youtu.be/CiDWToAPOLI?si=RJNZxwqVCLh6Ouiy

📽️Canva, Unsplash
🎞️Video editing by Stop Clearcutting CA Volunteer Samantha by @mosdefensiblespace

Part 2 in a 3 part series: Many people know they live with wildfire risk, but few understand what that risk looks like, especially how embers spread and ignite homes. Michael Stolghern explains in “Reducing Wildfire Risk: A Practitioner's Perspective,” that embers travel horizontally through the air, pile up densely against the walls, corners, roofs, and gutters, and often slip inside a home through vents or small openings. Once inside, they can ignite flammable materials like dry insulation.

In this forum, Michael and Olivia of MO's Defensible Space tell us that effective home hardening must target these weak points, sealing or reinforcing openings where embers can enter. This is just one example of the ways homeowners can take action to protect their homes and their communities from urban conflagration.

For more information:
-Follow @noclearcuts and watch for Part 1 and 3 of our series on fast fires & your community
-Check out the full version of MO’s Defensible Space’s Forest Protection Forum on our YouTube channel @forestprotectionforums

📽️Canva
🎞️Video editing by Stop Clearcutting CA Volunteer Samantha by @mosdefensiblespace

Vegetation doesn’t exist in a binary of “good” or “bad”, “safe” or “unsafe”, “low-fire risk” or “high-fire risk”. Our yards and vegetation are dynamic and changing systems. Their vulnerability to fire changes over time in the short-term and long-term, seasonally and year-after-year.

A list of “fire safe” plants is oversimplified. I see people ripping out all of their native shrubs because they’ve been categorized as “high-fire risk”, when thoughtful pruning and some targeted removal would have been sufficient…and would’ve helped maintain functioning systems while boosting aesthetic appeal.

Plant placement, plant type, and plant care must all be considered in fire-safe landscaping. You can’t achieve low-fire risk landscapes through cutting corners and short-term action.

#defensiblespace #wildfire #firescaping #sustainability by @mosdefensiblespace

Part 1 in a 3 part series:

As said by Olivia Anderson in “Reducing Wildfire Risk: A Practitioner’s Perspective,” “Without understanding how fire spreads through communities, it’s very difficult to prioritize the right actions to reduce that risk.”

In this forum, we learn from MO’s Defensible Space that fast-moving wildfires cause the vast majority of home losses. About 88% of home losses are a result of the fastest 3% of fires. Our current community defenses are built for slower, fuel and terrain-driven fires, but wind and ember-driven fires spread differently and can often overwhelm those safeguards. This forum teaches us that to truly reduce risk, people need to understand how wildfires spread, not just that they live in fire-prone areas. By doing so, communities can take targeted, effective action. Mike and Olivia, aka “MO,” are optimistic that disasters can be prevented, but only if we focus on what truly reduces community risk.

3 examples of strategies to reduce community risk from fast fires:
1. Fortify ember entry points with ember-resistant vents and seal gaps around windows and doors.
2. Remove dry leaves, mulch, dense shrubs, debris under decks, decorative evergreens, right next to buildings, as they accelerate fires.
3. Strategically retrofit the exteriors of clusters of closely spaced homes (25 feet or less apart) to make them ember resistant, to reduce the chance that one burning home will ignite its neighbors.

For more information:
-Follow @noclearcuts and watch for Part 2 and 3 of our series on fast fires & your community
-Check out the full version of MO’s Defensible Space’s Forest Protection Forum on our YouTube here: youtu.be/CiDWToAPOLI?si=RJNZxwqVCLh6Ouiy

📽️Canva
🎞️Editing by Stop Clearcutting CA Volunteer Samantha by @mosdefensiblespace

Speed run home hardening. The main take away? Harden for embers!! 🎇

#wildfire #renovation #retrofit #wildfireprevention #community by @mosdefensiblespace

And yet we still run into to people that want to remove aspens for wildfire risk

#wildfire #landscapedesign #sustainablelandscapes by @mosdefensiblespace

We are back at this beautiful Tahoma home for a repeated client of ours where we are installing the same beautiful Rocky Mountain granite you saw in one of our favorite fireplaces. This time we are installing a Wainscoting all around the base of this home which will not only add curb appeal, but protected from water damage, as well as harden it from wildfires. If you’d like to learn more about how Masonry protects your home from the event of a wildfire follow @mosdefensiblespace and @harden_your_garden to burn about the science behind defensible space by @mosdefensiblespace

Some thoughts about how people view wildfire

#wildfire #fire by @mosdefensiblespace

We invite you to join us for the next Forest Protection Forum from 4pm to 5:30pm pacific time on February 23rd!

Sign up at the link in our bio or at: sierraclub.zoom.us/meeting/register/W331PWk3QCi6Sx91CxFRtg#/registration

Practitioners Michael Stohlgren and Olivia Anderson (MO’s Defensible Space) will discuss “Reducing Wildfire Risk: A Practitioner's Perspective."

Summary: In two parts, Michael and Olivia will cover the evolving science around wildfire disasters and the reality of applying that science to meaningfully reduce risk within communities. As practitioners, we're boots-on-the-ground. We do this work with homeowners, fire departments, insurers, and other practitioners. This gives us insight on what is working, what is not, and where good intentions fall short. We are optimistic that disasters can be prevented, but only if we focus on what truly reduces risk.

MO’s Bio: Mike Stohlgren and Olivia Anderson - aka MO - are wildfire mitigation practitioners dedicated to the work of community wildfire risk reduction. They believe that with science-guided, forward-looking efforts, future wildfire disasters can be prevented. Through their company, MO's Defensible Space, they offer fire-smart landscaping services, landscape design, and wildfire risk assessments at both the community-scale and property-scale. Mike holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management and has developed two multi-scale wildfire risk assessment tools focused on parcel and community risk. Olivia is a NFPA Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist and former Defensible Space Specialist with the Truckee Fire Protection District; she is currently completing a Permaculture Landscape Design Program through Oregon State University. by @mosdefensiblespace