If you live in a heavily wooded area, it doesn't take much for a fire to spread from treetop to treetop. People are evacuated when this happens, but there are some steps that you can take to protect your home and family before an evacuation order:
A getaway bag will help: Keep some of your most important belongings in a bag near the front door, so that you can grab it and go if you need to evacuate quickly. In a case where some of your family is away, this will allow you to safeguard their most important possessions. Things for the bag would be your important documents, or copies of them, and any prescription medications that you or your family require. Some optional but important things would be your electronic items and toiletries.
Data: It would be wise for you to automatically back up your data on an external hard drive, so that you don't find yourself trying to unplug your desktop and lug it with you while running out the door.
Look up, look way up: If you have overhead power lines on your property, make sure they are clear of vegetation and well away from the nearest tree. Trees fall down, not only in fires, but in wind storms as well.
Protection zone: A general rule of thumb is to clear any trees, vegetation that could catch fire, or other debris away from your home at a distance of 10 metres.
Only you can prevent forest fires: Close to 50% of wild fires are caused by human carelessness. It just takes one spark to start a huge tragic fire, cause by a controlled burns that gets out of hand, campfires that are carelessly left, or still burning cigarette butts.
If the weather is extremely dry, it's a bad idea to build a camp fire. It's shocking, but some people throw burning cigarettes from their vehicle even today, don't be one of those people. Dry vegetation on the side of the road can catch fire quite quickly from an still burning cigarette butt.
Cut back vegetation around your home. Be certain to choose fireproof building materials when building a home, if you can. Fire resistant shingles, a spark arrestor on your chimney, and tempered glass windows go a long way to help prevent disaster. Your home insurance premiums can also be reduced by taking precautions like these.
A prepared evacuation plan is essential. Go over it with everyone in your household so that they are prepared. And do keep an emergency kit on hand. Include 3 days worth of drinking water, and an assortment of non-perishable food items. You should also include a first-aid kit, a flashlight and batteries, and a portable radio.
If you have a hot tub or pool, keep them filled with water, as well as garbage cans or other kinds of containers. Evacuate your home immediately, if ordered by a civil authority. To make your home more simple to recognize, use address numbers that are fireproof. Firefighters will find your house much more quickly if you take that precaution.
It almost goes without saying, but if you see a wildfire, be sure to call 911 right away.
Make sure you have the right home insurance. A wildfire could strike at any time, so be sure that your home insurance is adequate, so that if a tragedy occurs and your home is lost, you can have it rebuilt without losing everything.
A getaway bag will help: Keep some of your most important belongings in a bag near the front door, so that you can grab it and go if you need to evacuate quickly. In a case where some of your family is away, this will allow you to safeguard their most important possessions. Things for the bag would be your important documents, or copies of them, and any prescription medications that you or your family require. Some optional but important things would be your electronic items and toiletries.
Data: It would be wise for you to automatically back up your data on an external hard drive, so that you don't find yourself trying to unplug your desktop and lug it with you while running out the door.
Look up, look way up: If you have overhead power lines on your property, make sure they are clear of vegetation and well away from the nearest tree. Trees fall down, not only in fires, but in wind storms as well.
Protection zone: A general rule of thumb is to clear any trees, vegetation that could catch fire, or other debris away from your home at a distance of 10 metres.
Only you can prevent forest fires: Close to 50% of wild fires are caused by human carelessness. It just takes one spark to start a huge tragic fire, cause by a controlled burns that gets out of hand, campfires that are carelessly left, or still burning cigarette butts.
If the weather is extremely dry, it's a bad idea to build a camp fire. It's shocking, but some people throw burning cigarettes from their vehicle even today, don't be one of those people. Dry vegetation on the side of the road can catch fire quite quickly from an still burning cigarette butt.
Cut back vegetation around your home. Be certain to choose fireproof building materials when building a home, if you can. Fire resistant shingles, a spark arrestor on your chimney, and tempered glass windows go a long way to help prevent disaster. Your home insurance premiums can also be reduced by taking precautions like these.
A prepared evacuation plan is essential. Go over it with everyone in your household so that they are prepared. And do keep an emergency kit on hand. Include 3 days worth of drinking water, and an assortment of non-perishable food items. You should also include a first-aid kit, a flashlight and batteries, and a portable radio.
If you have a hot tub or pool, keep them filled with water, as well as garbage cans or other kinds of containers. Evacuate your home immediately, if ordered by a civil authority. To make your home more simple to recognize, use address numbers that are fireproof. Firefighters will find your house much more quickly if you take that precaution.
It almost goes without saying, but if you see a wildfire, be sure to call 911 right away.
Make sure you have the right home insurance. A wildfire could strike at any time, so be sure that your home insurance is adequate, so that if a tragedy occurs and your home is lost, you can have it rebuilt without losing everything.
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