Here are some tips from your local FD, NFPA, Firewise, and ready.gov
Projects that reduce wildfire risk and increase preparedness can be accomplished by a broad range of time commitments, with some as short as a few hours. You might be asking – what can I do in one day to be safer from wildfire? The answer is a lot!
You can invest time at your own home doing a project with family members or organize a group to help a neighbor that needs assistance getting work completed.
Before starting your project, be safety aware!
Ideas:
- Rake and remove debris and dry leaves within a minimum of 3 to 5 feet of a home’s foundation. As time permits – continue up to a 30-foot distance around the home. Dispose of collected debris in appropriate trash receptacles.
- Get out your measuring tape and see how close wood piles are located to the home. If closer than 30 feet, they need to be relocated and moved at least 30’ away from structures.
- Sweep porches and decks clearing them of leaves and pine needles. Rake under decks, porches, sheds and play structures. Make sure you dispose of debris.
- In the event of a wildfire remove combustibles from your porch or deck (chairs, cushions, rugs, basically anything that an ember can land on may burn!)
- Keep your rain gutters clear of debris.
- On mature trees, use hand pruners and loppers to remove low-hanging tree branches up to a height of 4 feet from the ground (specific height depends on the type and size of tree).
- Collect downed tree limbs and broken branches and take them to a disposal site.
- Remove items stored under decks and porches and relocate it to a storage shed, garage, or basement. Gasoline cans and portable propane tanks should never be stored indoors and should be located away from the home.
- Your local fire department has wildfire safety information ready to hand out.
- Join forces with neighbors and pool your resources to pay for a chipper service to remove slash.
- Visit the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association site, and download free home inventory software. Work together as a family to videotape and take photos of your possessions – that way you will have the insurance documentation needed to replace belongings.
- Have a home evacuation plan. Create a Family Communication Plan and build or update a 72-hour kit.
- Can you see your home’s address number from the street? If not, trim overgrown vegetation covering or blocking the numbers.
- Help an elderly relative or neighbor enter emergency numbers and the names of close relatives into their cell phones, and in large font post their phone number and street address above their landline so it can easily be seen when providing information to an emergency dispatcher.
- As a family – locate two alternate routes out of your neighborhood (besides the one normally used); and plan and practice an evacuation drill using those secondary routes.
- Work with neighbors to develop a phone tree that can be used to alert everyone about a fire or evacuation.
- Screen or box-in areas below patios and decks with wire/ metal screening no larger than 1/8” mesh to help keep embers out during a fire.
- During an evacuation, pets have special needs too – build an emergency kit for your animals.
- Please contact your local fire department for a free property FIREWISE evaluation:
FM Charlotte Herdliska Corona de Tucson Fire Department (520) 762-9370
BC Jackie Bisnar Rincon Valley Fire Department (520) 647-3760
