Reno Landscaper Urges Wildfire-Ready Yards This Fall

As fall cleanup gets underway across the Truckee Meadows, Reno homeowners are being urged to think beyond typical yard maintenance and consider wildfire readiness. Grand Design Landscape, a local landscaping and hardscaping company founded by Ben Benesch and run with his wife, Allison, is encouraging residents to start with the ground closest to their homes. According to the University of Nevada, Reno Extension's Living With Fire program, embers cause up to 90% of home ignitions during wildfires, making defensible space a critical line of defense. The program outlines a zone-based approach: the ember-resistant zone (0-5 feet from the home) requires routine removal of dead and flammable vegetation, woodpiles, mulch, leaves, pine needles, and shrubs like junipers and sagebrush. The lean, clean and green zone (5-30 feet) aims to stop fire from spreading from vegetation to the house.

Benesch notes that the closest strip around the house is often the most overlooked. "A lot of yards around here have bark mulch and junipers right up against the siding because that's what was installed years ago," he said. "That first few feet is exactly where you want to rethink what's on the ground." Grand Design Landscape offers solutions such as reno hardscaping projects that replace planting beds with patios and walkways, and retaining wall reno nv projects that create level, maintainable areas on sloped lots. For larger changes, the company's landscape design reno process plans layouts with each zone in mind. Benesch advises neighbors to walk their house this fall and examine the first five feet: "If it's dry, woody, or full of mulch, that's the place to start, and winter is a good time to plan the fix." The company provides landscaping reno homeowners use for full yard installations, hardscape, and irrigation, serving Reno, Sparks, Spanish Springs, Carson City, and surrounding Northern Nevada communities.