Wildfires are a seasonal occurrence across all parts of the United States. During a mild year, you might see smoke and contend with lower air quality. More severe instances mean flames spread from wooded areas through leaves and other lawn debris to your home and through your neighborhood.
Because of these risks, you’re advised to prepare well in advance. From packing for an evacuation to making home improvements, here’s what to do ahead of time and as an emergency unfolds:
Preparation
Know Your Evacuation Routes
You’ll have minutes to depart your community, so know where you’ll go and how you’ll get there. To do this:
- Read up on your community’s wildfire response.
- Map out all possible routes to safety — be it to stay temporarily in an unaffected area or travel to a relative to wait out the incident.
- Practice these routes, anticipate potential variations and think about how you’ll react.
- Prepare to follow directions from local authorities as a wildfire progresses closer to your community.
- Design a more comprehensive wildfire preparedness plan: Establish rules for what to do if a fire is approaching your home, where to go and who will grab the emergency kit.
Pack an Emergency Bag
Once wildfire season begins, make sure you have an evacuation bag pre-packed with the following:
- Food, water and first aid to last at least three days.
- At least a month’s worth of medications, packaged in a child-proof container.
- Personal, financial and medical records.
- N95 masks to reduce your risk of smoke inhalation.
- A backup charger and battery for your phone.
- A battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
Additionally, avoid packing flammable and combustible solutions, like hand sanitizer or an oil-based product. High-heat conditions may cause them to ignite or explode.
Prepare Your Response
What happens if you have to leave, attend to an injured family member or reference your insurance policy? Make sure your plan factors in:
- How you will receive alerts: Use your radio and additionally sign up for emergency alerts from your local government.
- Injury response: Understand how to administer first aid and deliver CPR.
- Insurance: Make sure to renew your coverage ahead of wildfire season. In addition to paper documents, have a copy of your policy and ID in a password-secured online location.
Update Your Property
Set aside funds and time to invest in the following improvements:
- Replace your exterior building materials with more fire-resistant options: Remove synthetics and cedar shake and install metal, tile and Class A roofing materials.
- Make sure hoses and pumps will spray water to all areas of your property.
- Redo your landscaping to create a fire-resistant buffer zone that extends at least 30 feet around your home in all directions. Keep this area free of wood and leaf piles, wooden objects and vegetation.
- Dedicate an interior space to take refuge from air pollution. Make sure all windows and doors are sealed, and install a portable air cleaner.
- Make sure your deck sits several feet off the ground, and have the sides enclosed, so that embers don’t settle underneath.
- Replace older single-pane windows with dual- or triple-pane windows to limit heat transference to your home’s interior.
- Replace your HVAC system’s standard filters with high-efficiency solutions that can trap smoke particles and prevent them from circulating throughout your home.
- For the areas outside your 30-foot barrier, check if the plants making up your garden and surrounding vegetation are fire-resistant. Based upon region, yucca, oak, lavender and succulents burn slowly and are less likely to spread the flames. On the other hand, pine trees, junipers, trees with peeling bark and perennials ignite quickly and generate debris.
As a Wildfire Approaches
Even if you’re monitoring air quality for the time being, always be ready to evacuate with your most essential belongings. Additionally:
- Realize that you may not receive an evacuation notice. If conditions look concerning, pack your car and travel the most logical evacuation route based on weather reports.
- Put on your N95 mask to limit smoke exposure during evacuation.
- Change your route if you spot ash, charred trees, live embers or downed power lines.
- Should you find yourself trapped, call 9-1-1 and turn on your lights, so that emergency workers can quickly identify you.
As you build your evacuation plan, find N95 masks, flashlights and pumps at Fire Safety USA. Shop now or contact us for additional information.