How to Protect Your Home From Wildfire

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By barkngdogwritng
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Large wildfires will burn every summer but you can protect your home.

Living surrounded by trees and natural areas is peaceful, scenic, and idyllic. But it can also be frightening and the loss of property can be devastating. By preparing, a homeowner can take steps to make a home defendable from wildfires, providing peace of mind. The "flash" isn't what actually causes homes to burn down; instead, embers land in niches with burnable materials. For instance, the spaces in firewood stacks provide excellent places for embers to establish fires. These established fires actually cause damage or destroy structures.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Remove brush and trees from a thirty foot radius around the house. If there are trees within this radius that are valuable to the homeowner, simply include the tree in the "structure bubble" and clear thirty feet from the tree.
Step 2

Remove all flammable materials from within thirty feet of the home. Firewood, hay, stacked lumber, gas or diesel, and other burnable items can all provide cozy niches for fires to become established from embers. Once fire is established near a home it can build up the heat needed to damage or destroy a home. Removing these materials removes the potential of a fire becoming established in them.
Step 3

Have a plan. Homeowners may not receive much notice when an evacuation is imminent. Creating a plan beforehand of the important items to take with you will decrease your evacuation time. Consider irreplaceble items such as photographs and sentimental gifts or jewelry. Keep important papers and information (deeds, titles, wills, bank account numbers, phone numbers) in an easy to grab, obvious place and include the place and items in your plan.

Tips & Warnings

Review your plan yearly. Update and modify it as necessary.
During fire season stay informed of conditions and fires in your area.
If your community has a Community Wildfire Preparedness Plan (CWPP) educate yourself on the plan.
Do not stay in your house when there is an evacuation order. This endangers not only you but also firefighters. Garden hoses and sprinklers can be turned on before you leave to slow a fire, but they will not put out a fire.
When evacuating, drive carefully and slowly. There will likely be emergency traffic driving the opposite direction as you and visibility may be poor.