According to Weather.com Fire
Facts webpage, 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 webpage 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.
Step 1: Get a Kit
Get an Emergency Supply Kit, which
includes items like non-perishable food, water, a battery-powered
or hand-crank radio, extra flashlights and batteries. You may want
to prepare a portable kit and keep it in your car. This kit should
include:
- Copies of prescription medications and medical supplies;
- Bedding and clothing, including sleeping bags and pillows;
- Bottled water, a battery-operated radio and extra batteries,
a first aid kit, a flashlight;
- Copies of important documents: driver’s license, Social Security
card, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth
and marriage certificates, tax records, etc.
Step 2: Make a Plan
Prepare Your Family
- Make a Family Emergency Plan.
Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is
important to know how you will contact one another, how you will
get back together and what you will do in case of an emergency.
- Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside
of your immediate neighborhood.
- It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to
call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better
position to communicate among separated family members.
- You may also want to inquire about emergency plans at places
where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no
plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.
- Plan to Evacuate
- Identify ahead of time where your family will meet, both
within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
- Identify several places you could go in an emergency, a
friend's home in another town, a motel or public shelter.
- If you do not have a car, plan alternate means of evacuating.
- If you have a car, keep a half tank of gas in it at all
times in case you need to evacuate.
- Take your Emergency Supply Kit.
- Take your pets with you, but understand that only service
animals may be permitted in public shelters. Plan
how you will care for your pets in an emergency.
- Take a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class from
your local Citizen
Corps chapter. Keep your training current.
- Report hazardous conditions that could cause a wildfire.
- Teach children about fire safety. Keep matches out of their
reach.
- Teach each family member how to use the fire extinguisher (ABC
type) and show them where it's kept.
Step 3: Be Informed
Prepare Your Home
- Protect your property from wildfires by designing and landscaping
your home with wildfire safety in mind.
- Select materials and plants that can help contain fire rather
than fuel it.
- Use fire resistant or non-combustible materials on the roof
and exterior structure of the dwelling. Treat wood or combustible
material used in roofs, siding, decking or trim with UL-approved
fire-retardant chemicals.
- Plant fire-resistant shrubs and trees. For example, hardwood
trees are less flammable than pine, evergreen, eucalyptus or fir
trees.
- Regularly clean roof and gutters.
- Inspect chimneys at least twice a year. Clean them at least
once a year. Keep the dampers in good working order. Equip chimneys
and stovepipes with a spark arrester that meets the requirements
of National Fire Protection Association Code 211. (Contact your
local fire department for exact specifications.)
- Use 1/2-inch mesh screen beneath porches, decks, floor areas
and the home itself. Also, screen openings to floors, roof and
attic.
- Install a smoke detector on each level of your home, especially
near bedrooms; test monthly and change the batteries at least
once each year.
- Keep a ladder that will reach the roof.
- Consider installing protective shutters or heavy fire-resistant
drapes.
- Keep handy household items that can be used as fire tools:
a rake, axe, handsaw or chainsaw, bucket and shovel.
- Identify and maintain an adequate outside water source such
as a small pond, cistern, well, swimming pool or hydrant.
- Have a garden hose that is long enough to reach any area of
the home and other structures on the property.
- Install freeze-proof exterior water outlets on at least two
sides of the home and near other structures on the property. Install
additional outlets at least 50 feet from the home.
- Consider obtaining a portable gasoline-powered pump in case
electrical power is cut off.
- Create a 30- to 100-Foot Safety Zone Around Your Home:
- Within this area, you can take steps to reduce potential
exposure to flames and radiant heat. Homes built in pine forests
should have a minimum safety zone of 100 feet. If your home
sits on a steep slope, standard protective measures may not
suffice. Contact your local fire department or forestry of
fire for additional information.
- Rake leaves, dead limbs and twigs. Clear all flammable
vegetation.
- Remove leaves and rubbish from under structures and dispose
of them properly.
- Thin a 15-foot space between tree crowns, and remove limbs
within 15 feet of the ground.
- Remove dead branches that extend over the roof.
- Prune tree branches and shrubs within 15 feet of a stovepipe
or chimney outlet.
- Ask the power company to clear branches from power lines.
- Remove vines from the walls of the home.
- Mow grass regularly.
- Clear a 10-foot area around propane tanks and the barbecue.
Place a screen over the grill—use non-flammable material with
mesh no coarser than one-quarter inch.
- Regularly dispose of newspapers and rubbish at an approved
site. Follow local burning regulations.
- Place stove, fireplace and grill ashes in a metal bucket,
soak in water for two days, then bury the cold ashes in mineral
soil.
- Store gasoline, oily rags and other flammable materials
in approved safety cans. Place cans in a safe location away
from the base of buildings.
- Stack firewood at least 100 feet away and uphill from your
home. Clear combustible material within 20 feet. Use only
UL-approved wood-burning devices.
- Find out how
to keep food safe during and after and emergency by visiting www.FoodSafety.gov.
Listen to Local Officials
Learn about the emergency plans that have been established in
your area by your state
and local government. In any emergency, always listen to the
instructions given by local emergency management officials.
For further information on how to plan and prepare for wildfires
as well as what to do during and after a wildfire, visit: Federal
Emergency Management Agency, NOAA
Watch, or American Red Cross.
More Information
For more information on wildfire preparedness, see the U.S.
Fire Administration.
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