More and more people are making their homes in areas adjacent to grasslands, as well as rural wooded sites around Sacramento. There, homeowners and visitors enjoy the beauty of the environment but face the very real danger of wildfire outbreaks. Wildfires spread quickly, igniting brush, trees and homes. Plan with your family where you would go and what you would do if your home is threatened by wildfire.
American Red Cross offers these recommendations: People, either intentionally or accidentally, start most wildfires. Find out how you can promote and practice fire safety. Contact your local fire department, health department or forestry office for information on local fire laws. Report hazardous conditions that could cause a wildfire.
How to
| What to do: American Red Cross recommendations |
Prepare in advance
| - Gather your home disaster supplies kit (see “Preparing For Emergencies" on page 7).
- Plan several escape routes away from your home by car and foot.
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| Prepare for a wildfire | - Teach children about fire safety (keep matches out of their reach).
- Teach family members how to use a fire extinguisher, and show them where it is kept.
- Post emergency phone numbers by every phone in your house.
- Plan how the neighborhood could work together to prevent and respond to wildfires. Consider how you could help neighbors with special needs.
- Additional steps to protect your pets and animals
- Prepare a pet emergency kit for your companion animals.
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| Additional steps to protect your home | - Identify and maintain an adequate water source outside your home, such as a small pond, cistern, well, or swimming pool.
- Keep on hand household items that can be used as fire tools — a rake, axe, handsaw, chain saw, bucket and shovel.
- Mow grass, rake leaves, and remove dead limbs and twigs. Clear all flammable vegetation.
- Regularly clean roof and gutters (keep a ladder that will reach the roof).
- Keep a garden hose that is long enough to reach all areas of your home and other structures on the property.
- Install freeze-proof exterior water outlets on at least two sides of your home.
- Make sure driveway entrances and your house number or address are clearly marked so fire vehicles can get to your home.
- Install additional outlets at least 50 feet from your home. Firefighters may be able to use them.
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| Right before: As the fire approaches your home | - Be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
- Listen to local radio and television stations for updated emergency information including your safest escape route.
- Check your emergency kit and replenish any items missing or in short supply, especially medications and medical supplies. Keep it in the car.
- Arrange for temporary housing at a friend or relative's home outside the threatened area. Identify nearby shelter sites and know your routes to get there.
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| Then, if you can, do this… | - Back your car into the garage or park it outside in the direction of your evacuation route.
- Confine pets to one room and make plans to care for them if you must evacuate (see “If you have pets" on page 10).
- Limit exposure to smoke and dust. Keep indoor air clean by closing windows and doors to prevent outside smoke from getting in. Do not use anything that burns and adds to indoor pollution such as candles, fire places and gas stoves.
- If you have asthma or another lung disease, follow your health care provider's advice. Seek medical care if your symptoms worsen.
- Dress to protect yourself: wear cotton/woolen clothing including long sleeve shirts, long pants and gloves.
- Turn on a light in each room to increase visibility in heavy smoke.
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| If you still have time… | - Shut off gas meter only if advised to do so by local officials.
- Open fireplace dampers and close fireplace screens. Burning embers will not be “sucked down" into a home from the outside.
- Wet down your roof (if combustible).
- Close windows, vents, doors, blinds, or noncombustible window coverings, and heavy drapes. Remove lightweight drapes and curtains.
- Move combustible furniture into the center of your home away from windows and sliding glass doors.
- Close all doors and windows inside your home to prevent draft.
- Place valuables that will not be damaged by water in a pool or pond.
- Place sprinklers up to 50 feet away from the structures to raise the moisture level of nearby vegetation.
- Seal attic and ground vents with precut plywood or commercial seals.
- Remove combustible items from around the home, lawn and pool side, such as furniture, umbrellas, tarp coverings and firewood.
- Connect the garden hose to outside taps.
- Gather fire tools (shovels, hoes and hoses) and make sure they're easy to access.
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| Inspecting your home | - If there is no power, check to make sure the main breaker is on. Fires may cause breakers to trip. If the breakers are on and power is still not present, contact the utility company.
- Inspect the roof immediately and extinguish any sparks or embers. Wildfires may have left burning embers that could reignite.
- For several hours afterward, recheck for smoke and sparks throughout the home, including the attic. The winds of wildfires can blow burning embers anywhere. Keep checking your home for embers that could cause fires.
- Take precautions while cleaning your property. You may be exposed to potential health risks from hazardous materials.
- Debris should be wetted down to minimize health impacts from breathing dust particles.
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| As you rebuild | - Clear 30 feet of space around your home of vegetation. Store firewood at least 30 feet away from your home.
- Clear debris off the roof, out of the gutters and away from air conditioning units.
- Plant fire-resistant shrubs and trees. Hardwood trees, for example, are less flammable than pine, evergreen, eucalyptus or fir trees.
- Use vegetation that is resistant to fire, and found naturally in the area. Do not import vegetation.
- Equip chimneys and stovepipes with a spark arrester that meets the requirements of NFPA 211, a specific standard for chimney fire safety.
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