How to be prepared for Wildfire Season?

Summer might be still a couple of months away, but as soon it hits San Diego it will bring along wildfires in many inland areas. You don’t have to be an expert to learn some basic tips and valuable information to prepare your home for fire season. The California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CALFIRE) through their website: readyforwildfire.org, promotes simple and necessary steps you can complete before we start experimenting with high temperatures.

One of the basic things to consider is your home itself. You can start by making sure your roof contains materials such as composition, metal, clay, or tile, those are very fire resistant. And make sure your roof is clean and doesn’t accumulate dead plants or leaves that can catch fire quickly.

Another important element to look after is windows. It has been stated that dual-paned windows with tempered glass can reduce breakage during a fire, which could cause a lot of damage. One simple thing you need to consider when building a house, or remodeling, is to avoid having big windows that face areas of vegetation, especially if vegetation is mostly dead weeds.

What about the walls? Walls are a big part of a house, and unfortunately using materials such as woods, boards, and shingles (most commonly used), create great danger for the property since they are all very flammable. Using instead ignition-resistant materials like stucco, fiber cement wall siding, fire retardant, and treated wood, can delay or prevent fire from spreading.

Even more, it’s not only about protecting your property, yourself, and your community, you should also think about landscaping. Even considering harvesting certain types of plants could mean a huge disaster or could prevent a big spreading in your home. Select some high-moisture plants such as aloe, ice plant, French lavender, etc. Also, try to purchase plants that are not too tall, and stay close to the ground, which helps to decrease fire flames from flying around.

For more information, please visit https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/hardening-your-home/ and https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/fire-smart-landscaping/ to learn more about preparing yourself, your community, home, and landscape, for a wildfire.