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At our place I burn stick piles in the winter and only allow aerial fireworks over the water at our 4th of July party.
We wet down surrounding areas, keep several long water hoses at ready, have a shovels and rakes near burns and hot hazard areas
We also keep a clean cut perimeter around our buildings for fire prevention and that also helps reduce the pests.
For inside the house we go overboard with smoke, carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers.
I think we must have 12 fire extinguishers at each house.
I have never allowed candles at our places and it’s been near 2 generations since we allowed a cigarette here.
One thing I do need to add is some rope ladders for our 2nd floor rooms.
I have known and seen people that have been burnt out of their houses.
Our California wild fires have really had an impact.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know a person that hasn’t lost their place from a fire storm.
Having your house burn down is a life changer.
The people that have lived through that use it as a time reference “before the fire or after the fire”.
Just sad.
This may sound dumb, since I'm nowhere near a wildfire area, but I learned some from watching Marty Rainey on Homestead Rescue. In several cases all trees within 100 feet of the house were cut. No shingles on the house but a metal roof. Can't remember some of the others but those kind of stuck in my mind. One house they set up a sprinkler system all the way around the house to turn on as your evacuating, that saves the house from burning.
This may sound dumb, since I'm nowhere near a wildfire area, but I learned some from watching Marty Rainey on Homestead Rescue. In several cases all trees within 100 feet of the house were cut. No shingles on the house but a metal roof. Can't remember some of the others but those kind of stuck in my mind. One house they set up a sprinkler system all the way around the house to turn on as your evacuating, that saves the house from burning.
Clearing around the house is the best risk reducing thing I can think of. My parents were living in whitmore when the Fern Fire occurred in 1990.
There are ariel views, their house being the only one that survived. They had 3 dogs, 5 horses, an RV, Dad did not want to evacuate. they had 40 acres, he lost a wood splitter, tractor, let the horses go free. It was 3 trips to get Mom and the animals out down to Palo Cedro to the evacuation park. There was another house on the property that was lost, but because Dad has cleared property of trees close to the house, they survived.
Forestry Management is incredibly important in California, in the Foothills, Eldorado county, then north east, even Tahoe, I think PG&E is doing better but really screwed up with the Paradise Fire.
My daughter still lives there in El Dorado County and there have been some close ones. Yes kygman, Dad was able to spray the roof, it was shingles, but then they forced him out.
Forestry Management is what will save us all from wildfires.
Yes, close trees around houses *can* be a risk if the fire is in the crown of a dense forest area, but don't ignore sources of ground ignition and ignition from leaf, mulch and needle debris directly touching the home and in gutters. This is where most wildfire-adjacent neighborhood fires start, from flying embers well ahead of any crown fire. These ember ignited ground fires will not necessarily ignite the home (or the surrounding trees if limbed up several feet) unless they have flammable material right up against the structure.
"Backfire" is a term I have not heard before, as we always called it "back burn" when burning pastures in the spring. You want to first "back burn" a pasture against the wind before you start the burn. You can control a fire into the wind and burn a line. Once complete, you light the fire from the other side, and let the fire go with the wind, and you are essentially done as it burns to the back burn line and it stops. People get impatient, though, because it takes time to back burn and they just want to light the fire. They then can't stop it. As an alternative, you can mow a strip on the backside and let it burn. I always mow around the perimeter during the year and if there is ever a fire burning through, from a neighbor burning, it stops it enough, they can control it.
I tried to register for the “Prescribed Burn Manager Certification Course” at our local university’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment in July but there weren’t any spots left. It’s a week long class and there’s a four hour exam at the end. If you pass, you’re issued a $1m liability policy as part of the cost ($150) of the class. Burning is fairly common here, something I’ll do as we move into fall.
I was with a buddy last night - we attended a “pipeline awareness” event at the same university as part of our vol firefighter department. He mentioned that when it comes to backfires, the most powerful tool is a gas-powered blower. Most also seem to run a tractor and a disc around their property as a barrier. I’ll do the same. My goal is to remove the invasive plants and replace them with native plants and ground cover. Pollinators will be added where the sunlight is the best.
My buddy passed the class and he’ll help me with my burn. Likewise, when he begins his, I’ll go over to help him.
I tried to register for the “Prescribed Burn Manager Certification Course” at our local university’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment in July but there weren’t any spots left. It’s a week long class and there’s a four hour exam at the end. If you pass, you’re issued a $1m liability policy as part of the cost ($150) of the class. Burning is fairly common here, something I’ll do as we move into fall.
I was with a buddy last night - we attended a “pipeline awareness” event at the same university as part of our vol firefighter department. He mentioned that when it comes to backfires, the most powerful tool is a gas-powered blower. Most also seem to run a tractor and a disc around their property as a barrier. I’ll do the same. My goal is to remove the invasive plants and replace them with native plants and ground cover. Pollinators will be added where the sunlight is the best.
My buddy passed the class and he’ll help me with my burn. Likewise, when he begins his, I’ll go over to help him.
"A country boy can survive!"
We are not helpless boobs floating around in this, we can learn what to do, we can learn how to survive!
The use of the term "boobs" is not an any way to be taken as misogynic. The next gal who uses the rude term for "male member" to refer to a guy who is clueless should get a free pass on my account!
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