Build a Fire-wise Landscape in Northern Colorado

August 3, 2026

Living along Colorado’s Front Range offers some of the most breathtaking views in the country; it also means you live with the increasingly common reality of wildfire.

Think you’re not at risk because you don’t live in the mountains? Think again. More than half of Colorado homes are susceptible to wildfire, and fire weather brings a danger to any home or subdivision, whether you live on the High Plains or in the Poudre Canyon.

Luckily, there are easy ways to safeguard your property against fire. As a professional landscaper familiar with Northern Colorado’s ecosystems and climate, Lindgren understands the critical role landscaping can play in safeguarding properties from fire.

In particular, the FireWise Guidelines provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) allows you to create a beautiful yet resilient property that naturally disrupts a fire’s path.

The Immediate Zone (0 to 5 feet from residence)

The secret to Fire Wise landscaping lies in the concept of the Home Ignition Zone (HIZ), which organizes your yard into three distinct layers of defense. Here is how to configure your landscape to look great while maximizing wildfire protection.

First, the five feet immediately surrounding your home should be a non-combustible zone. This is the most critical area for prevention, as wind-blown embers often land right against the foundation. If they find fuel, the structure is in immediate danger. 

Landscaping tips: In this zone, replace traditional wood mulch with a form of rock or gravel, and avoid planting any shrubs or trees. Instead, opt for low-profile flagstone walkways, concrete patios, or stone retaining structures that double as elegant hardscaping and an effective firebreak.

The Intermediate Zone (5 to 30 feet from residence)

This is the zone where thoughtful landscape design can reduce a fire’s energy and help prevent it from climbing closer. The goal in this zone is to create breaks in vegetation and remove any extra dead debris, which can act as kindling and spread the fire closer to the residence. 

Landscaping tips: Keep lawns mowed to a height of four inches or less and ensure they stay well-irrigated. If you have plants in this zone, arrange them in small, isolated clusters rather than continuous beds. Ensure tree canopies at maturity will sit at least 10 feet away from your roofline. Conifer trees (pines, firs, and other evergreens) should be spaced so there is at least 18 feet of clearance between their crowns. 

Finally, prune all mature trees so the lowest branches are six to ten feet off the ground. This prevents a low-intensity grass fire from climbing up the branches into the upper canopy.

The Extended Zone (30 to 100+ feet from residence)

In the outer rings of your property, the goal transitions from stopping the fire to slowing it down and keeping flames low to the ground. 

Landscaping tips: Remove any heavy accumulations of dead, woody debris or needle and leaf litter. If you have wild, native grasses or vegetation in this zone, keep them trimmed. For trees located 30 to 60 feet from the home, aim for a minimum of 12 feet between the tops of the canopies. For trees further out (60 to 100 feet), maintain at least six feet of space between crowns.

For this part of your property, focus on deciduous trees, such as aspens or maples, rather than resinous evergreens, as deciduous leaves inherently hold more moisture and burn much slower than evergreen needles.

Let Lindgren Build Your Fire-Wise Space

Creating a landscape that is resilient to fires is critical in Northern Colorado, but fire-resistant doesn’t mean boring or dull. You can still create a beautiful property that helps protect your home; it just requires a professional touch to effectively combine safety priorities with the right plants and materials that thrive in our climate. 

Lindgren’s award-winning team specializes in designing functional, high-end outdoor living spaces that naturally incorporate Fire-wise principles. We install pristine stone hardscapes and help you implement custom, smart irrigation and drought-tolerant native plants to give you peace of mind without compromising an ounce of beauty.

Contact Lindgren Landscape today to schedule your custom design consultation to protect your property from wildfire!