Off Grid & Urban Preparedness – Wildfire Preparedness Guide

Wildfire Preparedness Guide

According to Weather.com, an average of 1.2 million acres of U.S. woodland burn every year and more than four out of every five wildfires are caused by people. The U.S. Fire Administration’s Wildfire Statistics reported that in 2005 alone, 66,552 wildfires took place and 8,686,753 acres were burned. If you live where there is an abundance of plants and other vegetation that can easily catch fire, you may be vulnerable to wildfires and you should take the following three simple steps to prepare.

Before Wildfire Season

Make a Wildfire plan

Know your wildfire risk.
Familiarize yourself with local emergency plans. Know where to go and how to get there should you need to evacuate.
Make a wildfire emergency plan including an evacuation plan and a communication plan.
Many communities have text or email alerting systems for emergency notifications. To find out what alerts are available in your area, search the Internet with your town, city, or county name and the word “alerts.”
Build or restock your emergency preparedness kit, including a flashlight, batteries, cash, and first aid supplies.
Stay tuned to your phone alerts, TV, or radio, for weather updates, emergency instructions or evacuation orders.

Prepare Your Home

Create and maintain an area approximately 30’ away from you home that is free of anything that will burn, such as wood piles, dried leaves, newspapers, brush, and other landscaping that can burn. From 30 feet to 100 feet reduce or replace as much of the most flammable vegetation as possible and prune vegetation, create “fuel breaks,” such as driveways, gravel walkways, and lawns. Work with neighbors to create spaces up to 200 feet around your homes where vegetation is thinned to remove underbrush and tall trees do not touch each other for continuous canopies.
Regularly clean the roof and gutters.
Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill garbage cans, tubs, or other large containers with water.
Review your homeowner’s insurance policy and also prepare/update a list of your home’s contents.

What to do Before a Wildfire

If you see a wildfire, call 9-1-1. Don’t assume that someone else has already called. Describe the location of the fire, speak slowly and clearly, and answer any questions asked by the dispatcher.

Know your risk

Wildfires can occur anywhere and can destroy homes, businesses, infrastructure, natural resources, and agriculture. For more information, download the How to Prepare for a Wildfire guide, which provides the basics of wildfires, explains how to protect yourself and your property, and details the steps to take now so that you can act quickly when you, your home, or your business is in danger.

What

A wildfire is an unplanned, unwanted fire burning in a natural area, such as a forest, grassland, or prairie. As building development expands into these areas, homes and businesses may be situated in or near areas susceptible to wildfires. This is called the wildland urban interface.

Wildfires can cause death or injury to people and animals, damage or destroy structures, and disrupt community services including transportation, gas, power, communications, and other services. The impact may cover large areas with extensive burning, embers traveling more than a mile away from the wildfire itself, and smoke causing health issues for people far away from the fire. Wildfires damage watersheds leave areas prone to flooding and mudslides for many years.

Where

Wildfires can occur anywhere in the country. They can start in remote wilderness areas, in national parks, or even in your back yard. Wildfires can start from natural causes, such as lightning, but most are caused by humans, either accidentally—from cigarettes, campfires, or outdoor burning—or intentionally.

When

Wildfires can occur at any time throughout the year, but the potential is always higher during periods with little or no rainfall, which make brush, grass, and trees dry and burn more easily. High winds can also contribute to spreading the fire. Your community may have a designated wildfire season when the risk is particularly high.

Fire Weather Watch

Fire weather watch = dangerous fire weather conditions are possible over the next 12 to 72 hours

Steps to Take

Turn on your TV/radio. You’ll get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.
Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the route to take and have plan of where you will go. Check-in with your friends and family.
Keep your car fueled, in good condition, and stocked with emergency supplies and a change of clothes.

Before the Fire Approaches Your House

Evacuate. Evacuate your pets and all family members who are not essential to preparing the home. Anyone with medical or physical limitations and the young and the elderly should be evacuated immediately.
Wear Protective Clothing.
Remove Combustibles. Clear items that will burn from around the house, including wood piles, lawn furniture, barbecue grills, tarp coverings, etc. Move them outside of your defensible space.
Close/Protect Openings. Close outside attic, eaves and basement vents, windows, doors, pet doors, etc. Remove flammable drapes and curtains. Close all shutters, blinds or heavy non-combustible window coverings to reduce radiant heat.
Close Inside Doors/Open Damper. Close alt doors inside the house to prevent draft. Open the damper on your fireplace, but close the fireplace screen.
Shut Off Gas. Shut off any natural gas, propane or fuel oil supplies at the source.
Water. Connect garden hoses. Fill any pools, hot tubs, garbage cans, tubs or other large containers with water.
Pumps. If you have gas-powered pumps for water, make sure they are fueled and ready.
Ladder. Place a ladder against the house in clear view.
Car. Back your car into the driveway and roll up the windows.
Garage Doors. Disconnect any automatic garage door openers so that doors can still be opened by hand if the power goes out. Close all garage doors.
Valuables. Place valuable papers, mementos and anything “you can’t live without” inside the car in the garage, ready for quick departure. Any pets still with you should also be put in the car.

Preparing to Leave

Lights. Turn on outside lights and leave a light on in every room to make the house more visible in heavy smoke.
Don’t Lock Up. Leave doors and windows closed but unlocked. It may be necessary for firefighters to gain quick entry into your home to fight fire. The entire area will be isolated and patrolled by sheriff’s deputies or police.

What to do During a Wildfire

What to do After a Wildfire

All information above is from the FEMA website.