Wildfires are brutal, unrelenting and often unpredictable. For a while, they can seem to be dying down and receding in the opposite direction, but when the wind shifts, they will suddenly flare back up and take out everything in their paths. To learn what steps you can take to reduce the risk to your life and property, check out the article excerpt below.

Defensible Space and Wildfires

You’ll want to thin out those thick canopied trees near your house. Any nearby tree within 50 feet on flatland, or 200 feet if downhill from your retreat on top of the mountain, needs to be thinned, so that you’re pruning branches off below 10-12 feet high, and separating them by 10-20 feet. Also, eliminate all shrubs at the base of the trunks.
Is Your Home Built of Flame Resistant Materials?
However, more modern homes should — and usually are — built out of flame resistant materials in high wildfire areas. Still, if you’re building or remodeling and live in such a zone, remember that roof construction is extremely important (go with metal, tile, or slate).
Beyond that, it might also be a good idea to consider brick, stone, and concrete, as they are all more resistant to fire than wood. Still, there are commercial fire retardants that can be used on wood, if needed.
BEFORE A WILDFIRE
Create an emergency plan
Having an emergency plan is a good way towards wildfire survival. Assemble an emergency supply kit and place it in a safe spot. Remember to include important documents, medications and personal identification.
Develop an emergency evacuation plan and practice it with everyone in your home.
Wildfire is Approaching
Wear long sleeved clothes, cotton or wool, to protect your face and body from heat, hot ash and falling debris.
Shut off all gas appliances as well as the main gas valve to your home.
Turn on the lawn sprinklers and all water faucets so that the house can be salvaged as much as possible. To read the whole article, click here.
DURING A WILDFIRE
Limit exposure to smoke and dust
Listen and watch for air quality reports and health warnings about smoke.
Keep indoor air clean by closing windows and doors to prevent outside smoke from getting in.
Use the recycle or re-circulate mode on the air conditioner in your home or car. If you do not have air conditioning and it is too hot to stay inside with closed windows, seek shelter elsewhere.
Choose downhill, not uphill routes if possible. Fire moves faster uphill due to updrafts.
Select areas without fuel for fire- barren, plowed fields, riverbeds, ponds, rocky areas.
Stay away from dry, arid fuel potential, such as dead leaves, dry weedy fields, dead trees, etc.
Leafy trees burn more slowly than evergreen trees. Try to select a route that is less flammable, if possible. If you must choose a wooded area as your escape route, pick leafy trees over pines.
Where there is no hope of escape, seek shelter in the ground. Find a cave, barren crevice, drainage pipe or an underground hole. Lay low and curled up. Cover any exposed skin (including face) to keep thermal burns at a minimum. This will also help reduce smoke inhalation. If you live in or are visiting a high wildfire threat area, consider a fire blanket for emergencies.
If you have time as you evacuate, choose cotton clothing and shed nylon apparel. Nylon has a very low melting point. If you are close to a fire or intense heat, nylon can melt onto your skin.
If you are near water (lake, river, swimming pool) submerge as much as possible. Try to avoid coming to the surface when fire passes, as the heat can sear your lungs.
After the fire passes, proceed upwind, against the direction the fire is moving and where fuel has been already consumed by the flames.
When Asked to Go
If you choose to go or are asked to leave by officials, it’s time to put your family’s planning into practice:
Don’t panic – remember your family’s evacuation plan.
Grab your family’s “To Go Kit,” including your Financial First Aid Kit.
Turn off gas
Leave garden tools attached to outside faucets to assist fire fighters if necessary.
Drive with your headlights on so other evacuees can see you through any smoke.
Be sure to follow directions of law enforcement at all times.
Keep your car windows rolled up to prevent embers from entering your vehicle.
Choose the safest route. Watch for changes in fire and smoke direction.
Evacuate!
Evacuate early, before the fire arrives. By leaving early, you give your family the best chance of surviving a wildfire, while helping firefighters by keeping roads clear of congestion, enabling them to move more freely and do their job. Read more…
AFTER A WILDFIRE:
Don’t return home until you’re told it’s safe to do so.
Check roofs and attics for hot spots or sparks and extinguish them immediately. Continue checking every few hours for a day.
Use caution when entering a building and avoid all standing water. It may have an electrical charge.
Check over all utilities and consult a professional if damage has been done.

By utilizing these steps in your emergency plans, you can vastly improve the chances that you won't lose your home to a wildfire. What's more, these steps are applicable to other natural disasters as well. Clearing trees away from your house will also go a long way toward protecting it from storms or earthquakes. You should also always have an evacuation plan in place like the one discussed in the article. Remember to listen to warnings and law enforcement; if they say it's time to leave, LEAVE.

Visit Survival Life to learn more about protecting homes and families from wildfire dangers.