Firebreaks & Fire Lanes
Breaks cut around homes, shops, timber stands and property lines — before you need them, not during.
Why a break works
A fire moving through brush needs fuel in front of it. A break takes the fuel away in a strip wide enough that a ground fire runs out of anything to burn. It doesn't stop everything — nothing does in the wrong wind — but it buys time and it gives crews somewhere to work from.
Around a house, the first thirty feet matter most. Around timber, breaks want to follow the contours and tie into roads and creeks you already have.
Breaks and burning
If you're planning a prescribed burn, the break goes in first and it goes in wider than you think. The Alabama Forestry Commission has requirements and a notification process for burning, and that's a conversation to have with them, not with us. We cut the line; the burn is yours to plan.
Firebreaks across West Alabama
We run firebreaks out of Berry in Fayette County and cover eight counties from there. Pick yours to see the towns we work in and what the ground is like.
Firebreaks — questions we get asked
How wide should a firebreak be?
Wider than the flame length you expect, and wider on a slope than on flat ground. The Alabama Forestry Commission is the right place for specifics on your stand.
Can you cut breaks on steep ground?
Tracked machines handle a lot of slope, but not all of it. We'll walk it and tell you honestly if part of it is out of reach.
Related services
- Forestry MulchingOne machine, one pass. Standing brush, briars, saplings and small timber go into the head and…
- Land ClearingWhen it's bigger than a mulcher can take, the dozer goes to work. Trees pushed, roots raked…
- ExcavatingFootings, trenching, culvert sets, stump and root removal, and the jobs that just need a…
- Site WorkAccess cut in, culverts set, ditching and drainage run so water goes where you want it, laydown…
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