How do I prepare my house for a wildfire?

As wildfire season arrives, homeowners can decrease the risk of their homes catching fire by making sure they are built with fire-proof materials.

Embers can collect in the small nooks and crannies on the outside of homes, and flames can crack windows. This makes the materials used to build homes in wildfire-prone areas even more important.

Here are some areas to check on your home and recommendations from experts.

To check how hardy your home currently is against wildfire, use this tool from the National Fire Protection Association.

When building a fire-resistant property, homeowners must also keep in mind where flammable vegetation is planted to best reduce the chances of the property catching on fire.

Defensible space is the area between the house and flammable vegetation outside. It is broken up into three areas, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Up to five feet from the building is the non-combustible area. In this zone, homeowners should move flammables like mulch, flammable plants, leaves, wood and anything stored under porches.

In the next zone, from five to 30 feet from the home, create fuel breaks by inserting driveways, paths, patios and decks. Grass should be mowed to a height of four inches. Ladder fuels, like vegetation under trees, should also be removed. Prune trees up to six to ten feet from the ground and have a space of 18 feet between trees. Additionally, be sure to clear vegetation from under stationary propane tanks.

In the last zone, from 30 to 100 feet from the home, dispose of any debris and remove dead plants and trees, including the vegetation next to storage sheds or other buildings. In this zone, trees should have at least 12 feet of space between canopy tops. Trees 60 to 100 feet from the home should have at least 6 feet between the canopy tops.

Experts recommend installing patios, pavers, stone paths and gravel near the home. Small shrubs, vegetable gardens and smaller trees should be about 100 feet from the house.

Some materials are more fireproof than others. The National Fire Protection Association recommends avoiding wood and using composite shingles, metal, concrete and clay tiles for your roof.

Also, make sure to keep your roof clear of potential fire fuels, like leaves and other vegetation. This includes clearing gutters and trimming branches that are close to your home.

According to CalFire, eaves, which hang over the side of the house, should be boxed in and protected with ignition-resistant or noncombustible materials.

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For siding, experts recommend brick, fiber cement, plaster, three-coat stucco or metal.

Windows can and will break from the heat of a wildfire. For windows, tempered glass will help prevent breakage in the case of a wildfire. Dual-pane tempered glass is also helpful to prevent embers from collecting in the nooks and crannies of siding and windows.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also suggests installing non-combustible awnings to shieldwindows.

Conventional wooden decks are combustible and will often ignite before the fire reaches them, according to the Colorado Forest Service.

For this reason, homeowners should build decks and porches with heavy timber or noncombustible materials like metal or concrete. The federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy suggests using exterior-rated, fire-retardant-treated wood or ignition-resistant materials. These include PVC decking, pressure-treated wood, aerated concrete and fire-retardant-treated wood to name a few.

When building a deck location is important. Avoid building on or near vegetation that cannot be cleared away, and avoid building decks that extend over slopes with vegetation, as they are likely to ignite.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy also suggests creating defensible space around a deck, by putting down a noncombustible ground cover like rock, gravel, pavers or composted or heavy bark mulch.

According to CalFire, it is important to cover chimney embers from escaping and igniting a fire.

Cover chimneys and stovepipe outlets with a material that has openings no smaller than 3/8-inch and no larger than 1/2-inch. Be sure to close the fireplace flue during fire season when the chimney is not being used.

CalFire also recommends covering vent openings to prevent flying embers from entering. Vent openings should be covered with 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch metal mesh. Avoid using fiberglass or plastic mesh because they can melt and burn.

In plant beds close to the house, within 30 feet, avoid using organic mulch. Use a non-organic mulch like pea gravel or stone.

Experts also recommend keep plants 3 to 5 feet of the walls to a minimum, especially if the walls are flammable.

While experts say to avoid having grass near flammable structures, having succulents and other low-growing, fire-resistant plants and groundcover is acceptable.