Firewise USA™ Certified Community
Monterey at Mirabel Village is a certified Firewise USA™ community, recognized by the National Fire Protection Association in partnership with the Scottsdale Fire Department.
We live alongside the McDowell Sonoran Preserve — beautiful, and fire-prone. Brush fire season runs mid-April through September. What each homeowner does on their own property protects every neighbor.
Defensible space standards
The Scottsdale Fire Department recommends 30 feet of defensible space around every home.
0 to 15 feet from the structure
The highest-priority zone — remove anything that could carry fire to your home.
- Remove all dead plant material — leaves, branches, bark, debris
- Keep grass short or replace with rock or decomposed granite
- Space shrubs to avoid a continuous fuel path
- Clear tree branches up to 6 feet from the ground
- Keep gutters, roofs, and vents debris-free
- No firewood, propane, or combustibles stored in this zone
- Skip wood mulch — use rock instead
15 to 30 feet from the structure
- Clear dead vegetation from the ground
- Thin shrubs and trees so fire can't travel plant to plant
- Remove invasive species like desert broom before they dry into fuel
30 to 100 feet - Extended Zone
- Thin trees so crowns are 10-15 ft apart
- Remove dense shrubs
- Separate flammable plants with walkways
NAOS easement areas have their own defensible space rules. See the ESLO & NAOS guide on the Document
Firewise and your landscape guidelines
These standards are part of the Landscape & Architectural Guidelines. Firewise compliance doesn't skip the approval process — any landscaping change still needs ARC sign-off before work begins.