Preparing for Wildfire at Home: Embers, the 200-Foot Zone and a Go Kit

In a wildfire, most homes that catch fire are ignited by traveling embers, not the flames of the main fire. That is why the area within 200 feet of a house — the Home Ignition Zone — matters so much: what you do there makes a big difference to how much is damaged or lost. And wildfires can come in any season.

As towns and housing developments spread, the wildland-urban interface — the zone where open land meets development — grows. Places there are more likely to be hit by fire because of the plantings, other fuels and structures that can keep a fire going. Preparing your home also lowers the risk to firefighters and the community. When a wildfire threatens, follow the instructions of public safety officials; if an evacuation is ordered, go.

The Las Conchas Fire of 2011, Valles Caldera National Preserve. Credit: J. Dewar, National Park Service.

Plan ahead

• Pack an emergency "go kit."
• Plan two ways out of your neighborhood and pick a meeting place; every home should have at least two different ways in and out.
• Include pets and livestock in your plan.
• Sign up for your community's emergency alerts.
• Get your home ready before you travel.
• Inspect and clean chimneys regularly, and fit wood-burning heaters' chimneys with spark arresters.

Supplies for an emergency go kit. Credit: Ready.gov.

Keep embers from taking hold

• Clear needles, leaves and debris from roofs, gutters, porches and decks.
• Keep firewood, propane tanks and heavy brush at least 30 feet from buildings.
• Space plants so fire cannot jump from them to the house or to other plants.
• Keep a fuel break around every structure, and avoid bark or wood-chip mulch right next to buildings.
• Keep lawns mowed and watered, and get rid of yard debris and cuttings.
• Put metal mesh screens over attic and crawl-space vents.

Credit: Ready.gov.

When a wildfire threatens

• Take everything flammable off decks and porches — cushions, propane tanks, doormats.
• Connect a garden hose to an outlet.
• Keep fire tools handy: a ladder that reaches the roof, a shovel, a rake and a bucket of water.

The National Fire Protection Association has more on preparing homes in the wildland-urban interface.

"Preparing Fire Safe Communities": make a go kit, an evacuation plan and a meeting place; plan for pets; sign up for alerts; clear roofs and gutters; keep a fuel break; keep flammables 30 feet from structures. Credit: National Park Service.

Sources

Based on "I Didn't Know That!: Preparing Fire Safe Communities," National Park Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.