What About Your House Siding?

Many Whitehorse houses are sided with vinyl siding.  Vinyl siding is inexpensive and it doesn’t need to be painted like wood siding.  But, in areas prone to wildfire, it is far from ideal.  While it is difficult (but not impossible) to get vinyl siding to burn, it will melt if there’s fire nearby. That will expose the house cladding which is usually a wood product.  And, if embers accumulate at the base of the wall, the cladding can burn.

What to do if you have vinyl siding?  At the minimum, making sure that the first 1.5 meters from the house are non-combustible (gravel or non-flammable plants).  Also, making sure that first 25 cm of the wall are non-combustible by installing a wide flashing can help.  For more information, see https://firesmartcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FSA_FireSmart-Fact-Sheet_Siding.pdf