fire season: 3 things to keep in mind and be prepared for

3 ways to prepare for fire season

Table of Contents

This fire season has been hard for California and all the west coast of the United States. In 2020 nearly 1.5 million acres have burned, compared to 43,417 in the same time span last year.*

3 ways to prepare for fire season

fire season preparedness

an ounce of prevention

Make sure you pin this post because before fire season even starts there are precautions you want to take. First of all, you want to make sure you have good defensible space. Ensure that your lawn is kept short and well-watered. Space and trim shrubs and trees appropriately. You want to eliminate opportunities for a “fire ladder” in your yard. If you have dead trees or other yard debris (piles of dead leaves, etc.) laying around get rid of it.

| You can find more information on readyforwildfire.org! |

be prepared

Does your family have an emergency plan? It can be scary to think about what you would do if you became separated or phones stopped working during an emergency. Make sure you have a meet up plan for if you’re not together when an evacuation order comes. Let extended family know what your plan is so you’ll be easier to locate if the time comes.

Check your grab and go bags (or make some if you don’t have them already). See if anything needs to be updated, like clothing sizes, medication, expired food, etc. Also consider purchasing a small, fire proof safe or keeping copies of important documents in a safety deposit box. Another tip is to include an external hardrive in your grab and go bag that is updated with pictures and important documents periodically.

| Tips to be prepared and stay safe in our National Parks |

clean it up

This is a bonus step because once fire season is over and smoky skies are cleared there’s more to do! You’ll want to change out your air filters, even if you’ve recently done so. If ash has been falling where you are then don’t forget about your plants either! Spray the leaves of your plants with a hose to remove the ash. Ash typically won’t harm your soil but make sure the runoff doesn’t end up in a storm drain or somewhere it can contaminate the water supply. And if you have solar panels don’t forget about cleaning those off as well!

Thank you firefighters

*Stats from Cal Fire, dates are January 1, 2020 – September 15, 2020 and January 1, 2019 – September 15, 2019.

Do you experience fire season where you live? Does your family have an emergency plan?
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