Fire season is upon is…Are You Prepared?

Living in Southern California we all need to be prepared for fire season.  As this year’s season is approaching, you by now have gone through your check list.  Fire extinguisher checked and recharged if needed, fire escape plan practiced with all family members, and updated photos of interior of your home taken.

But what about home defense.  What can you do in advance to prepare your home to be as safe as possible?  My family had gone through everything we though we needed to be ready in the event there was a wildfire in our area.  The property has been mowed, pepper trees have been trimmed and all dead leaf droppings raked and picked up.  We were ready to go…until we got a visit from Cal Fire over the weekend.  Officer MacDonald commended us that we had most of our property ready but offered a few more suggestions.

 Like many homes we have pepper trees on our property for shade and as we know they also leave behind leaf droppings.  Many of the droppings do not always make it to the ground and left inside the tree canopy as fuel.  Just waiting for 1 small spark. Pepper trees are not the only type of tree that will hold on to dead droppings inside of the canopy.  Pine trees and shrubs will also hold on to this type of fuel. Officer MacDonald suggested that we use a power washer to spray these types of landscaping items to remove the dead droppings and adding one more layer of preventative protection to our home.

The last suggestion Officer MacDonald had for us was to move our wood pile back from the eaves of our home.  Not many houses still have wood burning fireplaces inside the home, but you might have an outdoor place that still uses firewood.  We had ours next to the house so that on those cold and rainy nights we would not have to run too far to replace our rack we store the wood inside our home.  Officer MacDonald explained that while it seemed helpful this extra fuel would promote the spread of any wildfire.  Once the eaves catch, the spread of a fire into the attic is inevitable and costly damage is to follow.

These two simple steps will just add an extra layer of protection during this up coming fire season.  To find more helpful hints please visit www.coronaca.gov , use the search window and look for Fire and Safety Tips.