Preparing your home for wildfire season? Here’s what you need to know
As a relative newcomer to the North Bay, I’ll admit I didn’t know much about how to best protect my home from wildfires.
But, experts tell me there are many misconceptions even among those who are more seasoned, informed and have lived through the trauma of catastrophic wildfires.
In part, that’s because our understanding has evolved a lot in recent years.
“We have learned so much about home ignition in the last 10 years, not only through laboratory research … but through bitter experience because we've lost so many homes,” said Caerleon Safford, a department analyst in fire prevention for Permit Sonoma, Sonoma County’s Permit and Resource Management Department.
While we tend to think of wildfires as the giant walls of flames that dominate media coverage, in the vast majority of cases where homes catch fires, Safford said, the cause is “something that probably is the size of a pea, or more accurately, 50 things that are the size of a pea” – embers.
“And, that is where defensible space and structure hardening get really important,” she told me.
Upgrading homes and maintaining property to be more fire safe can feel like a daunting and costly task ― and it can be, especially for older, disabled and low-income residents.
But, professionals say there are a lot of low and sometimes no-cost easy steps to take that are actually also the most effective, starting with the area right around the house.
Defensible space
“My experience is that even people who are very educated and aware and experienced, are still not understanding the priorities, which generally emphasize preparing a property from the structure outward, not the land inward,” said Stuart Mitchell.
He runs Wildfire Mitigation Advisors, a Santa Rosa-based firm providing wildfire property assessments, community education and real estate and insurance compliance analyses.
That means focusing on the zero to five-feet zone around the home and worrying later about the big eucalyptus 35 feet out.
Start with being mindful of anything that, if an ember landed on it, could catch fire ― doormats, umbrellas, cushions on a lawn chair, a recycling bin overflowing with cardboard, mulch. These are the types of things that should be minimized or stowed away on a red flag warning day when there’s increased risk of fire.
“It's the easiest defensible space hack there is,” Fire Safe Sonoma CEO and President Roberta MacIntyre told me. “It costs you nothing.”
“We have been really good about telling people that plants are a big risk,” Safford said. “What we haven't been as good at doing is, ‘So is that basket full of driftwood that's sitting on your wooden deck right up against your wooden wall.’ We tend to not see ‘stuff.’ That's often one of the most egregious risks.”
When it does come to landscaping, using gravel or cement in the five-foot range is ideal, but if not, think about plant choice and separating combustible vegetation into islands, preferably in fire resistant pots, to disrupt fuel continuity.
Choose low-growing plants. The best options are ones that don’t shed and create a mess and aren’t as flammable. For instance, aloe vera causes a lot less problems than rosemary or juniper. Either way, keeping any plants hydrated and clear of dropped debris is key.
In the five-to-30-foot zone, Safford likes to say “lean, clean and green.” Avoid bushes right up next to each other and get rid of dead and dying material. Keep wood piles 30-plus feet away if there is space on the property.
After that, residents can look toward maintaining the thirty-to-100-feet area if applicable, but “just do that zero to five if you can't do anything else,” Safford said.
Home hardening
While the focus should be “structure out” for defensible space, when it comes to fortifying the home against flame, the mantra is “top down.”
As large, relatively flat surfaces, roofs can be a dangerous gathering place for embers. Most people don’t know what kind of roof they have so it’s worth getting a roof inspection if possible.
They should be Class A, meaning metal or certain composition shingles. At the very least, it’s important to keep roofs and gutters clear of debris throughout fire season. Metal gutter covers are a good tool.
While you’re at it, keep combustible materials in the attic to a minimum.
In every conversation I had, retrofitting or upgrading vents also came up as a top priority.
All underfloor, attic, crawl space and other such vents should be replaced with wildland-urban interface-compliant vents. A lower cost option is to purchase a roll of 1/8 to 1/16-inch metal mesh at the hardware store and use it to cover the vent openings.
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