Fire-resistant materials around your home and property for repairs, renovations, and building
Firewood, propane tanks and other flammable materials within 30 feet of your home, shed, and other structures you want to survive a wildfire (ideally, they’d be at least 100 feet away)
Trees or thick grass grows right next to the home.
Brush piles, wood sheds, or woodpiles are right next to the home.
Thick shrubs are near sliding glass doors and windows.
The house is on a steep slope with lots of vegetation below.
The house has wood shingles or wood siding.
Turn off the house’s propane or natural gas.
Wet the yard and roof with a sprinkler. Inside, fill sinks and bathtubs with cold water.
Move fabric-covered furniture away from windows and doors.
Close all inside doors to slow the spread of fire inside the house.
Turn off devices that circulate air throughout the house.
Take a cellphone, fire extinguisher, bottled water, battery-powered radio, and flashlight with extra batteries when you gather with your family.
Choose the hallway or room that is farthest from the fire. Avoid the house’s perimeter walls.
Try to stay calm. It’ll likely get very hot inside the house, but it’s even hotter outside. Stay inside.
Park in an area where there are no objects such as trees and debris to feed flames. If possible, locate a solid object such as a concrete wall to act as a barrier between you and the flames.
Get below the windows.
Cover yourself with a jacket or blanket.
Keep the engine running.
Exit only after the wall of fire has passed.
Have several evacuation options for the animals. Possible shelters include fairgrounds, equestrian centers, stockyards, and friends’ property.
Designate a cleared area in case you have no choice but to leave your livestock. Leave sufficient hay or food for three days in addition to water (power cuts may render automatic watering systems unusable).
Keep copies of your animals’ vital records along with copies of your own records. Include registration papers, vaccination and medical records, photographs of the animals, and your proof of ownership.
Create a disaster kit for the livestock. Include items such as food and water for three days, wire cutters, knife, shovel, water buckets, flashlights, hoof pick, leg wraps. and first aid items.
Maintaining Air Quality During a Wildfire
In many cases, wildfires burning an hour away or even many hours’ drive from where you live can affect you. They may compromise the air quality in your town so severely that officials alert you not to venture outside.
In many cases, the smoke and pollution from wildfires can be just as dangerous as the flames. A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimates that at least 33,000 people die yearly around the world from pollution caused by wildfire smoke. Those most at risk are children under nine and adults over age 80.
Given the grave danger of wildfire smoke and pollution, here’s how to protect your family from breathing low-quality air.
Keep all windows and doors closed.
Use a portable air cleaner to keep the air quality in your house as high as possible.
Spend much of your time in a room or rooms where air from outside doesn’t filter in.
Keep your pets inside as much as possible until the air improves. Be extra careful with those who are elderly, pregnant, or young. Definitely don’t force dogs to keep up if you’re jogging or biking. They should go on short walks only for bathroom purposes. In addition, make fresh water plentiful for your pets.
Birds in particular are susceptible to airborne particles. Keep them inside, and monitor them.
