Escape Editor
jwalker@the-signal.com
Posted: June 5, 2009 4:48 p.m.
I was up on the hill behind my home on that October day in 2007. The wind almost blew me off the peak and the sky was like something out of “Backdraft” as the smoke from the wildfire screamed overhead. Eerie.
Still, I never thought the fire could get across the vegetation-free expanse of the graded-out section of Plum Canyon.
I was wrong.
I had been trying, unsuccessfully, for months to get my homeowners association to drastically trim the pepper trees on the hillside behind my home. It was their responsibility. These trees had gown overlarge and their branches were reaching over my backyard and their crowns, I would estimate, were within 30 feet of the eves of my house.
It was definitely a fire hazard.
Still, I thought the fire would pass me by and did noting to prepare for evacuation or anything else. Hours later, as flames crested my hill and rushed down toward my home — and the cops came by, ordering everyone out via their loudspeaker — I grabbed the dog and left.
My home survived, but just barely. Those pepper trees were scorched on the side that faced the fire, and they were probably close to turning into torches and setting my house ablaze.
Are you in a similar situation? Maybe it’s time for a little brush fire prevention action.
Ready! Set! Go!
Though many homes and neighborhoods in the SCV already participate in brush clearance programs, there are probably many hundreds of others that would benefit greatly from brush clearance. And there are a number of other additional actions that any homeowner can take to protect a home against wildfires.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Michael Freeman recently unveiled a wildfire action plan called “Ready! Set! Go!” (which is available at www.fire.lacounty.gov/SafetyPreparedness/ReadySetGo/pdf/Ready Set Go 09.pdf). The plan gives you the tips and tools to successfully prepare for a wildfire. It gives you guidance on retrofitting your home with fire-resistive features and helps you create a defensible space around your home. It helps you prepare your home, yourself and your family so that you can leave early, well ahead of a fast-approaching wildfire.
As Chief Freeman notes at the beginning of the plan, “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ the next major wildfire will occur in Los Angeles County. That’s why the most important person in protecting your life and property is not the firefighter, but yourself.
Through advance planning and preparation, we can all be ready for the next wildfire.”
Stephanie English, community services liaison for Division III Fire Station 73 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said, “‘Ready! Set! Go!’ provides a lot of information and education for residents to prepare their homes against wildfires and prepare their families for evacuation.”
She emphasized that evacuation is a key component, and that residents should be ready to evacuate quickly when asked by firefighters. “It’s a collaborative effort to prepare their homes and to work with firefighters to have the most successful outcome,” she said.
Take action now
“But it’s been cool and cloudy and it drizzled yesterday,” you say. “I don’t need to worry about brush fires.” Well, if you’ve lived in the SCV for any length of time, you know this weather won’t last. The heat will come and the hillsides are already brown. There have already been several brush fires in Southern California. It is fire season already, and it will be a long one.
Protect your home from fire now. As laid out in the “Ready! Set! Go!” plan, you can create a fire-defensible space, “harden” your home against fire and prepare you family for fast action when fire does threaten.
Defensible space
Defensible space is the area around a structure free of flammable plants and objects that creates a zone in which firefighters can operate safely in order to help protect a home during a wildfire. The defensible space for each structure varies, depending on the type of vegetation and topography.
- Zone 1: This zone extends 30 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc. Remove all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth within 30 feet of any structure or within 50 feet of any structure in areas determined to be high hazard. Single trees, ornamental shrubbery or cultivated ground covers may be permitted provided they are maintained in such a manner that they do not readily transmit fire from native vegetation to the structure.
- Zone 2: Thin out and remove vegetation an additional 70 feet from the structure, for a total of 100 feet. The inspecting officer may require an additional 100 feet of thinning or removal, for a total of 200 feet, due to high fire hazard.
A “hardened” home
The ability of your home to survive wildfire depends on its construction materials and the quality of the defensible space surrounding it. Embers from a wildfire will find the weak link in your home’s fire protection scheme and gain the upper hand because of a small, overlooked or seemingly inconsequential factor. However, there are measures you can take to safeguard your home.
- Windows and doors: Embers can enter gaps in doors, including garage doors. Plants or combustible storage near windows can be ignited from embers and generate heat that can break windows and/or melt combustible frames.
- Balconies and decks: Embers collect in or on combustible surfaces or undersides of decks and balconies, ignite the material and enter the home through walls or windows.
- Roofs: A roof is the most vulnerable surface for embers to land, lodge and start a fire. This includes roof valleys, open ends of barrel tiles and rain gutters.
- Eaves: Embers gather under open eaves and ignite exposed wood or other combustible material.
- Vents: Embers enter attic or other concealed space and ignite combustible materials. Vents in eaves and cornices are particularly vulnerable, as are any unscreened vents.
- Walls: combustible siding or other combustible or overlapping materials provide a surface and crevice for embers to nestle and ignite.
- Sprinkler system: To harden your home even further, consider protecting it with a residential fire sprinkler system. It protects your family year-round from wildfires and any fire that may start in your home.
Personal action plan
The “Ready! Set! Go!” plan outlines steps and offers checklists so that you can to prepare your family for a wildfire. But the most important thing is to rehearse your plan with your family members and keep the checklists handy. You should also make an evacuation kit, which includes such things as important documents, phone numbers, prescriptions, irreplaceable memorabilia, credit cards and personal computers or external drives and disks.
Fire-wise landscaping
And though it isn’t detailed in the “Ready! Set! Go!” plan, you might also consider landscaping with fire-protection in mind. Many plants are “recommended” by fire protection agencies for your defensible space.
When deciding what to plant, the homeowner should select plants for the desirable attributes of fire resistance, low maintenance, availability and erosion control effectiveness.
So protect your home and family from wildfires now.
Don’t wait until a fire is coming down your hillside.
And, no, despite more attempts since the 2007 wildfire to get my association to trim those pepper trees, they have not. I’m tired of waiting, guys.
Email Article
Print Article
Sign Up for Our Qwik-e Newsletter
