Wildfire Preparedness

Wildfire preparation starts with your home and property. Learning how to prepare for a wildfire means taking proactive steps to harden your house against embers, reduce flammable materials, and create defensible space around your property. The goal of wildfire preparation is to give you and your family the best chance of staying safe, whether that means slowing the spread of flames, protecting your home’s most vulnerable areas, or buying valuable time for evacuation. By understanding how to prepare for a wildfire now, you can greatly reduce the risks later.

The International Fire Chiefs Association promotes the “READY, SET, GO” program.  This program is used by local fire departments and law enforcement agencies to help communities prepare for wildfire and provide instructions in the event of a wildfire.  

READY: This is the planning step that is done well in advance of the threat of wildfire.  It includes:

• Creating an emergency plan for your family
• Preparing a go-bag
• Downloading information apps
• Improving your home’s defensible space and vulnerability to flying embers by clearing vegetation and hardening your home.

If you have only one evacuation route or your routes could become blocked with heavy traffic or fallen trees/power lines, you may want to consider including a FORT™  as an option for you and your possessions.  

SET: The “READY” step prepares you for “SET” which is when a wildfire is possible.  Fire season can be year-round in some areas, but the information you receive from local news outlets, weather alerts, and the recommended applications downloaded during the “READY” step will help you know if/when you need to evacuate.  A fire threat warning may be issued for your area by the National Weather Service.

During this step, you put your family’s plan in motion.  Ensure your go-bag is by the door, your evacuation vehicle is ready to go, and you know how to open your garage door without electricity.  Any other steps you have in your emergency plan should be completed during this time, including placing any valuable items that cannot be carried in your evacuation vehicle in your FORT™.  Local Resources will help you monitor the situation.

GO: Always adhere to local law enforcement instructions.  If you are ordered to evacuate, use the information you downloaded during the “READY” step.  If you are unable to evacuate due to blocked routes or downed trees/power lines, take refuge in your FORT™.

For a complete overview of how to prepare for wildfire, go to California CalFire’s resource center.

 

Home Hardening

Even small embers can ignite a home long before flames arrive. “Home hardening” means making your structure more resistant to heat, flames, and airborne embers through thoughtful upgrades and regular maintenance. By reinforcing vulnerable areas like your roof, vents, siding, and decks with non-combustible materials, you can greatly reduce your home’s risk of ignition during a wildfire.

The goal is not just to protect the structurebut also to buy precious time for evacuation and increase the likelihood that your home survives even when firefighters can’t reach it immediately. Use the following guidelines to identify where improvements can make the biggest impact on your property’s wildfire resilience.
 

1. Roof: Install a wildfire resistant Class-A rated roof such as metal, slate, concrete, or asphalt.  Keep roof maintained and clear of flammable debris.
    
2. Gutters: Install metal gutters such as aluminum.  Cover gutters with a non-combustible screen to prevent accumulation of flammable debris.
    
3. Chimney: Cover chimney and other outlets with spark arrestors and non-combustible metal mesh screening (at least 1/8 inch wire mesh).  Keep the fireplace flue closed during wildfire season when the chimney is not being used.
    
4. Vents: Consult local building codes and a licensed contractor to install ember-resistant vents or cover existing vents with at least 1/8-inch metal wire mesh.   
    
5. Eaves: Enclose eaves using non-combustible or ignition-resistant materials to prevent ember entry.  
    
6. Siding: Avoid flammable siding such as wood, wood-fiber, or vinyl.  Replace with non-combustible siding such as stucco, fiber cement board, stone veneer, or brick.  Keep siding maintained and close any gaps greater than 1/8 inch.   
    
7. Fencing: Avoid flammable fencing next to the home; replace 5-10 foot section next to the home with metal, fiber cement board, iron, or steel wire.  Work with neighbors to reduce the risk of fencing carrying flames to homes.   
    
8. Deck: Construct decks using fire-resistant, noncombustible material, such as fire-rated composite deck material, aluminum, or concrete.  Use metal supports.  Existing decks can be retrofitted with non-combustible material.  Clear decks of all flammable material and do not store anything below a deck or stairs.  Enclose the area beneath the deck with a non-combustible wall covering or 1/8-inch or finer metal wire mesh.
    
9. Exterior Windows: Replace all exterior windows with tempered, multipaned glass or fire-resistant glass.  Add screens to windows to catch embers and reduce heat; keep screens maintained.
    
10. Exterior Doors: Install non-combustible or ignition-resistant solid doors with a metal threshold.  Any glass on doors should be tempered and multipaned.
     
11. Garage: If the power fails, ensure the entire family knows how to open the garage door manually.  Close any gaps 1/8-inch or larger with weather stripping.  
     
12. Water access: Provide long garden hoses around the home that can reach all areas, including roofs and decks. 
     
13. Address signage: Install a reflective address sign compliant with local regulations for proper address identification.  Ensure the numbers are visible from the street from both directions.
     
14. Driveway and Access: Maintain vegetation clearance on both sides, as well as overhead, of driveways and access roads.  If the property is gated, gates should open inward and be wide enough for emergency vehicles.
    
     

Defensible Space

A defensible space is the buffer between your home and the surrounding grass, trees, shrubs, or wildland area. When properly maintained, it slows the spread of wildfire, protects your home from radiant heat and flying embers, and provides firefighters with a safer area to defend your property.

Defensible space isn’t removing all vegetation; it’s strategic spacing, pruning, and landscaping to reduce fuel and interrupt the fire’s path. By managing vegetation in zones that radiate outward from your home, you can significantly improve your property’s chances of surviving a wildfire.

Use the following zone-by-zone guide to understand how to create effective separation and minimize ignition risk.

A. Ignition Zone (0-5 feet):  The Ignition Zone is the most vulnerable zone to embers and wildfire ignition.  This area should be kept clear of all flammable material and vegetation.  Replace wood mulch with non-combustible material such as dirt, stone, or gravel.   

B. Careful Landscaping Zone (5-30 feet): The Careful Landscaping zone extends 5-30 feet from the home and the objective is to design the area to reduce the risk of fire spreading from vegetation to your home.  Remove ladder fuels and create vegetation fuel breaks to influence and decrease fire behavior.  Use hardscaping (driveways, walkways, paths, patios, and decks) to create fuel breaks. Reduce overall vegetation and keep it well-irrigated.  Keep native grass to no more than 4 inches.  Store combustible patio furniture away from your home and properly store umbrellas and awnings when not in use.   

C. Extended Zone (30-100 feet):  The Extended Zone creates separation between the home and surrounding wildland vegetation.  Remove any dead vegetation and space trees so there is a large clearance between canopy tops; increase spacing on steeper slopes.  Outbuildings like sheds should be at least 30 feet away from the structure.  Items such as vehicles, boats, RVs, and ATVs should be stored, but if they are not, they should also be 30 feet away.  Ensure exposed firewood is stored at least 30 feet away from structures or covered in a fire-resistant material that protects it from embers. 

When you purchase a FORT™, it should be placed in the Extended Zone (far enough from the home for safety, yet easily accessible). The FORT™(Fire-Resistant Onsite Refuge Technology) is a last-resort, fire-tested refuge designed to protect occupants when evacuation is impossible, serving as the ultimate safeguard within your overall wildfire preparedness plan.