10 Tree Tips for Canberra Bushfire Season

1. Don’t be scared of mature trees in your yard – they can shield against heat and embers if strategically placed and well-maintained. This can be achieved by pruning, dead wooding and a health assessment.
2. Clear tree branches that touch or rest against the house, and those closer than 1.5 metres from power lines.
3. Keep your gutters free of leaf litter and debris.
4. Remove dry grass, leaves, prunings, and piles of unused mulch from your yard.
5. Keep your wood piles tidy, covered, and away from your house.
6. Prune your shrubs away from mature tree branches.
7. Prune lower branches of shrubs away from surface fuels like mulch and leaf litter.
8. Keep your grass to around 10 centimetres long.
9. Keep hedges and large shrubs that sit against the house watered and pruned.
10. If you’re in a bushfire prone area, there are extra things you can consider like greater pruning of trees within 10 metres of the house. You can check if you’re in a Canberra bushfire prone area here.

Your safety is important. If you need help with tree pruning, removal, dead wooding, and health assessments arrange a time for us to visit.

Visit ACT Emergency Services website for more information on bushfire season in Canberra, including preparing a bushfire survival plan.