EVACUATION'S PART I : Long Before Fire Threatens, Plan Your Evacuation.

Make a list of items you want to take with you during an evacuation. Here's an example, but prepare your own list.

IMPORTANT STUFF:

• prescriptions, medications
• eyeglasses
• important documents (birth certificates, passports, insurance papers & inventory, personal phone & address books, tax records, personal finance floppy disks, children's school records, inoculation & vaccination records, photos, art)
• jewelry
• pet, pet food, leash, carrier
• child's favorite toy
• other...
• Keep your "Important Stiff" list handy.
• Keep sturdy boxes ready for collecting things on your list.
• Prepare an Emergency Supply Kit.

EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT

When fire threatens, you won't have time to shop or search for supplies. Assemble an Emergency Supply Kit that includes items you'll need if you have to evacuate. Store them in easy-to-carry containers such as back-packs, plastic crates...

• a three-day water supply (1 gallon per person per day)
• a three-day food supply that won't spoil, and a way to open it.
• one change of clothes & shoes per person
• one blanket or sleeping bag per person
• a first aid kit that includes family prescriptions
• spare eyeglasses
• emergency tools
• battery powered radio
• flashlight
• plenty of extra batteries
• extra set of car keys
• toilet supplies
• special items for infants, elderly, disabled
• sunglasses
• goggles (for high wind or blowing embers)
• work gloves
• more??? use your imagination...what things help YOU in times of stress?
• If possible, involve your children in the planning - let them feel part of the process.
• Review and update your "Important Stuff" list & Emergency Supply Kit periodically.
• Learn alternate ways out of your neighborhood, in case the usual way becomes blocked.
• Plan how you'll transport your pet.
• If you have large animals, learn how to prepare. Call your local Department of Animal Control or Humane Society.
• Designate a relative or friend as an out-of-area contact through whom family members can relay information. Long distance phone systems often work while local communications are overloaded.
• You may not be home when wildfire threatens. Authorities must close roads for safety and you may not be able to enter. Make arrangements in advance for persons or pets who will be home when you're not.

Creating an Effective Defensible Space... Part II

STEP THREE: IS THERE A CONTINUOUS DENSE COVER OF SHRUBS OR TREES PRESENT WITHIN THE RECOMMENDED DEFENSIBLE SPACE AREA?

Sometimes wildland plants can occur as an uninterrupted layer of vegetation as opposed to being patchy or widely spaced individual plants. The more continuous and dense the vegetation, the greater the wildfire threat. if this situation is present within your defensible space area, you should "break-it-up" by providing a separation between plants or small groups of plants.

Not only are steep slopes often considered high wildfire areas, they are also highly erodible. when removing shrubs and trees from steep slopes, keep soil disturbance to a minimum. also , it may be necessary to replace flammable vegetation with other plant materials to prevent excessive soil erosion.

STEP FOUR: ARE THERE LADDER FUELS PRESENT WITHIN THE RECOMMENDED DEFENSIBLE SPACE AREA?

Vegetation is often present at varying heights, similar to the rungs of a ladder. Under these conditions, flames from fuels burning at ground level, such as a thick layer of pine needles, can be carried to shrubs which can ignite still higher fuels like tree branches. Vegetation that allows a fire to move from lower growing plants to taller ones is referred to as "ladder fuel." The ladder fuel problem can be corrected by providing a separation between the vegetation layers.

Within the defensible space area, a vertical separation of three times the height of the lower fuel layer is recommended.

For example, if a shrub growing adjacent to a large pine tree is three feet tall, the recommended separation distance would be nine feet. This could be accomplished by removing the lower  tree branches, reducing the height of the shrub, or both. The shrub could also be removed.

STEP FIVE: IS THERE AN AREA AT LEAST 30 FEET WIDE SURROUNDING YOUR HOUSE THAT IS "LEAN, CLEAN AND GREEN"?

The area immediately adjacent to your house is particularly important in terms of an effective defensible space. It is also the area that is usually landscaped. Within an area extending at least 30 feet from the house, the vegetation should be kept...

• Lean - small amounts of flammable vegetation.
• Clean - no accumulation of dead vegetation or other flammable debris, and
• Green - plants are healthy and green during the fire season

The "Lean, Clean and Green Zone Checklist" will help you evaluate the area immediately adjacent to your house.

STEP SIX: IS THE VEGETATION WITHIN THE RECOMMENDED DEFENSIBLE SPACE AREA MAINTAINED ON A REGULAR BASIS?

Keeping your defensible space effective is a continual process. At least annually, review these defensible space steps and take action accordingly. An effective defensible space can be quickly diminished through neglect.

Creating an Effective Defensible Space...Part I

Are you worried about the wildfire threat to your home, but aren't sure how to get started in making your home defensible? Follow these six steps to an effective defensible space...

STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS AN EFFECTIVE DEFENSIBLE SPACE?

 

The Size of the defensible space area is usually expressed as a distance extending outward from the side of the house. This distance caries by the type of wildland vegetation growing near the house and the steepness of the terrain.

On the "Recommended Defensible Space Distance" chart presented above, find the vegetation type and percent slope (see "Homeowners Guide to Calculating Percent Slope" below. Save the diagram to your PC and print.) which best describes the area where your house is located. Then find the recommended defensible space distance for your situation.

For example, if your property is surrounded by annual grass, and is located on flat land, your recommended defensible space distance would extend 30 feet from the sides of the house. If your house is on a 25% slope and the adjacent wildland vegetation is dense tall brush, your recommended defensible space distance would be 200 feet.

If the recommended distance goes beyond your property boundaries, contact the adjacent property owner and work cooperatively on creating a defensible space. The effectiveness of defensible space increases when multiple property owners work together. The local assessor's office can provide assistance if the owners of adjacent properties are unknown. Do not work on someone else's property without their permission.

Temporarily mark the recommended distance with flagging or strips of cloth tied to shrubs, trees, or takes around your home. This will be your defensible space are.

STEP TWO: IS THERE ANY DEAD VEGETATION WITHIN THE RECOMMENDED DEFENSIBLE SPACE AREA?

Dead vegetation includes dead trees and shrubs, dead branches lying on the ground or still attached to living plants, dried grass, flowers and weeds, dropped leaves and needles, and firewood stacks. In most instances, dead vegetation should be removed from the recommended defensible space area. A description of the types of dead vegetation and the recommended actions will be presented tomorrow in,  Part II of  'Creating an Effective Defensible Space.'

The Fire Environment

Firefighters recognize three components of the fire environment: weather, topography and fuel. These components affect the likelihood of a fire starting, the speed and direction at which a wildfire will travel, the intensity at which a wildfire burns and the ability to control and extinguish a wildfire. Although weather and topography cannot be changed, the fuels (or vegetation) can be modified. Consequently, many of our opportunities to reduce the wildfire threat lie in proper management and manipulation of wildland vegetation.

WEATHER: Dry, hot and windy weather increases the likelihood of a major wildfire. These conditions make ignition easier, help fuels burn more rapidly and increase fire intensity. High wind speeds, in particular, can transform a small, easily controllable, fire into a catastrophic event in a matter of minutes.

TOPOGRAPHY: Of topographic features, steepness of slope most influences fire behavior. As the steepness of a slope increases, the fire spreads more quickly. Other important topographic features include aspect (south and southwest slopes usually have mire fires) and steep, narrow drainage (chimneys), which can significantly increase the rate of fire spread.

FUEL: Fuel is required for any fire to burn. In regard to wildfire, fuels almost always consist of living vegetation (trees, shrubs, grass and wildflowers) and dead plant materials (dead trees, dried grass, fallen branches, pine needles etc.). Houses, when involved with a wildfire, can become a source of fuel. The amount, size, moisture content, arrangements and other fuel characteristics influence the ease of ignition, rate of fire spread, length of flames produced and other fire behavior.

THE HUMAN FACTOR: When people are living in high-hazard fire environments, the human-built environments becomes an important factor in predicting the loss of life and property. Untreated wood shake and shingle roofs, narrow roads, limited access, lack of fire-wise landscaping, inadequate water supplies and poorly planned subdivisions are examples of increased risk to people living with the threat of wildfire.

The Wildfire Equation

Much of the western United States is considered a high fire hazard environment. Long before " modern civilization," fires would periodically burn through - part of an environmental cycle that renewed and re-invigorated living things.

All the natural factors necessary to support large, intense and uncontrollable fires remain. What's changed is an increased population with an increase of homes in these areas, often with little regard to fire's threat. This has caused an interference with the cycle of periodic fires. RESULT: greater fire potential to more and more people.  RESULT: catastrophic fires causing huge losses and un-meetable demands on fire fighting resources. RESULT: a direct threat to your community, your home, your family!

There are things you can do to understand the threat and prepare for it. PREPARE. "Pre" is the key. This blog outlines steps you can take - long before a fire - to prepare your home and family to survive wildfire.

Every step you take in advance reduces risk to you, your family and your home - whether firefighters are available to help protect you or not.

Fire is, and always has been, part of the dynamics of the beautiful area (Southern California) you've chosen to live in. Through advanced planning and preparation, we can be ready for wildfire.