Preparing your property

Creating defensible space is the most important step you can take to protect your home.

We’ve collected a few resources that show you the impact of embers on structures in a fire situation

The best time to prepare for a wildfire is before fire season starts! According to Firewise USA there are 8 actions you can take to improve your chance of surviving a wildfire:

  1. HOME IGNITION ZONES To increase your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire, choose fire-resistant building materials and limit the amount of flammable vegetation in the three home ignition zones. The zones include the Immediate Zone: (0 to 5 feet around the house), the Intermediate Zone (5 to 30 feet), and the Extended Zone (30 to 100 feet).

  2. LANDSCAPING AND MAINTENANCE To reduce ember ignitions and fire spread, trim branches that overhang the home, porch, and deck and prune branches of large trees up to 6 to 10 feet (depending on their height) from the ground. Remove plants containing resins, oils, and waxes. Use crushed stone or gravel instead of flammable mulches in the Immediate Zone (0 to 5 feet around the house). Keep your landscape in good condition.

  3. ROOFING AND VENTS Class A fire-rated roofing products, such as composite shingles, metal, concrete, and clay tiles, offer the best protection. Inspect shingles or roof tiles and replace or repair those that are loose or missing to prevent ember penetration. Box in eaves, but provide ventilation to prevent condensation and mildew. Roof and attic vents should be screened to prevent ember entry.

  4. DECKS AND PORCHES Never store flammable materials underneath decks or porches. Remove dead vegetation and debris from under decks and porches and between deck board joints.

  5. SIDING AND WINDOWS Embers can collect in small nooks and crannies and ignite combustible materials; radiant heat from flames can crack windows. Use fire-resistant siding such as brick, fibercement, plaster, or stucco, and use dual-pane tempered glass windows.

  6. EMERGENCY RESPONDER ACCESS Ensure your home and neighborhood have legible and clearly marked street names and numbers. Driveways should be at least 12 feet wide with a vertical clearance of 15 feet for emergency vehicle access.

  7. DISASTER PLAN Develop, discuss, and practice an emergency action plan with everyone in your home. Include details for handling pets, large animals, and livestock. n Know two ways out of your neighborhood and have a predesignated meeting place. n Always evacuate if you feel it’s unsafe to stay—don’t wait to receive an emergency notification if you feel threatened from the fire

  8. ANNUAL INSURANCE CHECK-UP Conduct an annual insurance policy checkup to adjust for local building costs, codes, and new renovations. n Create or update a home inventory to help settle claims faster.

Preparing a Go Bag

Preparation can be the difference between panic and confidence in an emergency situation. One of the easiest, and most effective things you can do to help prepare you and your family for an emergency is create a “go bag”. A go bag is pretty much what it sounds like: a bag that you can take when you need to “go”. A go bag contains everything you need to survive for 48-72 hours. It should be kept packed and stored in an obvious place.

Because many of the things in a go bag can breakdown over time, it’s also important to periodically review the contents and ensure it’s all still functional. We recommend checking at least once a year. You never want to be surprised that the flashlight batteries don’t work when really need it!

What goes into a go bag? Great question! it doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. We have created a simple list you can use to prepare you own bag!

If you would prefer to buy a premade bag, here are some options you can check out - just beware, some of these can be quite expensive and may be overkill for your situation! As with all emergency preparation, you know your family’s needs best!

Premade bags:

DIY Go bag Checklist

1. The “bag” itself

  • Large and sturdy enough to hold essentials and small enough to grab on the run. You can use a large backpack, wheeled luggage, or even large cloth shopping bags.

  • The bag should be sturdy, you never know what conditions will be like when you need it.

  • Keep in an accessible location, such as a front hall closet or garage, where it’s easy to grab on your way out the door.

2. Food and water

  • You need enough food & water for at least 3 days 

  • Lightweight, nutrient-dense foods, such as protein bars, instant oatmeal, nuts and seeds

  • At least one gallon of water per person, per day. 

  • Don’t forget a manual can opener and utility knife.

  • Pack enough food & water for your pets

  • Water/food bowls for animals (see here for additional pet prep)

3.  Medications

  • Many medications can’t be stored for a year in a backpack. If you can’t store a stash, keep a list of necessary medications with the go bag so that you can collect what you need on your way out the door.

  • Phone numbers for your physicians & pharmacy for each member of your family

  • If you have specialized medical equipment like syringes, CPAP machines or oxygen tanks make sure you have portable versions you can grab quickly.

  • Rx Open website in partnership with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, maps the list of pharmacies that are open in disaster-stricken areas                    

  • N95 masks filter out fire ash particulates that could trigger asthma or allergic responses. And as the last couple years have taught us, they are also good at blocking airborne diseases.

  • Hand sanitizer, soap, antibacterial wipes,

  • Thermometer

4. Personal Essentials and Utilities

  • First-aid kit

  • Travel-size toiletries 

  • Change of clothing, including a warm, waterproof layers

  • Extra pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses (and solution) 

  • Blanket

  • Scissors, multitool or other cutting tool

  • Duct tape

  • Work gloves

  • Towels

  • Matches

  • Rope or paracord

  • A large multi use poncho

  • Ground cloth or tarp

  • Garbage bags (large and small)

  • Flashlights

  • Extra batteries

5. Electronics

  • Chargers (phone, Laptop, Kindle, Fit-Bit, etc.)

  • Recommend hand-crank portable radios - most emergency communications are available on FM/AM radio

  • Consider investing in a set of portable solar panels that can charge your devices.

6. Paper Work

  • Photocopy essential documents & store all paper work in a waterproof, zip-lock bag

  • Passports

  • Birth certificates

  • Driver’s licenses

  • Social Security and Medicare cards

  • Marriage, adoption and naturalization certificates

  • Title or lease documents

  • Insurance paperwork

  • Credit and debit card information

  • Passwords or other credentials needed to access your critical online accounts (Banks, email, etc)

7. Cash

  • Natural disaster cause power outages which may make it difficult to use ATMs and may disrupt credit card purchases.

  • Pack some cash; a couple hundred dollars of small bills for a two-member household to cover gas, food and other essentials; rolls of quarters ideal to buy food/water from vending machines