Firewise in Napa County by Dave roberts on fire this time 48 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine.com 8 ZONE 1: STRUCTURE IGNITION ZONE (0-10 feet from the structure) This zone needs to be lean, clean, and green, since home ignition starts easily. Non-irrigated vegetation should be removed or reduced and cut low Post wildfifire remnants of a home. s u s t a i n a b l e l i f e Planning for a wildfire can save your house and home~and family This is the first in a series of fire and emergency preparedness articles presented by Napa Valley Life. In them we’ll look at fundamentals of home fire safety, what can be done to avoid a fire emergency, and what to do in the unlikely but potentially devastating event of your home catching fire or other disaster. “Okay, flight leaves at 10, so we’re on the road by 6. Do you have the passports?” It’s surprising how much preparation goes into something as simple as a one week vacation. Even a day shopping in the city entails pet care, travel time, kid meals, remembering heavy traffic patterns, etc. We prepare so that things go off without a hitch. The same goes for emergency planning. A little planning, communicating the plan with family, and having a few things on hand, can empower you to overcome and survive a seemingly insurmountable disaster. In October of 2003 the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, one of three major fires burning in that area at the same time, burned 273, 246 acres, destroyed 3,241 homes, and killed sixteen people. It cost $43 million dollars in fire suppression costs alone. It was the biggest in California history. And while a smaller fire in size, the Oakland Hills fire of 1991 destroyed 3,354 homes, 437 apartment buildings or condos, and killed twenty-five people. It cost $1.5 billion dollars but burned only 1,520 acres. Both of these firestorms occurred in metropolitan regions, in the midst of urban development. The Oakland fire was in our own backyard. Living in an urban or semi-rural area like Napa tends to fool us into thinking we are “safe”—that a wildland fire won’t affect us. The truth is, as the above examples illustrate, a critical wildland fire event occurring in Napa County becomes a matter of “when,” not “if.” Sitting with the knowledge of this danger becomes one of the prices we pay to live amid one of the most beautiful areas in America. Preparing is how we mitigate that danger. (“Mitigate” is a term often used in the fire service. It means, literally to “soften” the effects of an emergency). So how to prepare? There are several things any homeowner can do to protect home and family from a wildland fire’s devastation. First and foremost is: whatever plan you make, also make sure every member of the family is in on it. Communicating vital parts of the plan such as where to meet, who has what task when evacuating, and how to contact each other if you get separated, is key to the plan’s success. Also, keep the plan simple and review that plan periodically so the family stays well-informed and confusion will be limited. Limiting confusion makes for less panic, which results in sounder decision making. Sounder decisions can save lives. In terms of actual planning, there are several excellent resources available to help you. Cal Fire in particular has an emergency preparedness page (calfire.ca.gov/fire_protection/fire_protection_be_prepared.php), which not only provides downloads for such things as escape plans for parents of small children and descriptions of how to make your home wildland ZONE FIREBREAK (1. Keep your rain gutters and roof clean of all flammable material. 2. Get rid of dry grass, brush and other flammable materials around your home— and don’t forget leaves, pine needles and bark walkways. Replace with well-maintained (watered) landscape vegetation, green lawn and landscape rocks. 3. Clear all flammable materials from your deck. This includes brooms, stacked wood and easily ignitable patio furniture. Also enclose or board up the area under your deck to keep it from becoming a fuel bed for hot embers. 4. Move woodpiles and garbage cans away from the home 30 feet or more. 5. Use fine mesh metal screen (1/4”) or less to cover eaves, roof and foundation vents to prevent embers from entering. 6. Inspect and clean your chimney every year. Trim away branches within 10 feet. Install a spark arrestor with 1/2-inch mesh screen. 7. Got a propane tank? Get rid of any flammable materials within 10 feet of it and, if possible, position it at least 30 feet from any structures. 8. Window screens should be metal, not plastic or other flammable material. Burning embers landing on wood shake roofs are one of the leading factors for losing your home to a wildfire. Replace your wood shake roof with non-flammable (Class-A) roofing materials such as asphalt shingles, tile, or metal. Both and should Living With Fire.NapaCo08_rev.indd 8-9 the A “fully-involved” home after being ignited by wild land fire
NVLife_NovDec_2013
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