Tips on Being Ready for a Fire

If we are forced to leave the neighborhood this summer by a fire, here are some tips from a list that is currently being circulated by email:

• Cars are combustible and cannot be parked near structures or people and need to be parked away from the evacuation site. Do not block any roads. Use only one car or no cars. Try to avoid traffic jams or evacuation will grind to a halt and fire trucks will not be able to reach the sites. Keep car windows closed to protect from smoke. Evacuating with cars and trucks full of things is only done when there is advanced warning to evacuate the valley. If you are fleeing to a safe zone, this is a life saving maneuver and not the time to take lots of items.
• Pets need to be on leashes or in cages. Bring their food.
• Smoke and grass fires are more lethal.  If there is wind, you will not be able to stop a fire with a garden hose nor will you be able to out run it. [20 mph wind=20/mph fire]. Evacuate immediately to one of    the safe zones. If there is no wind, a different strategy is possible...hoses, calling for help, etc. If in doubt, leave.
• Fires move fast up hills but most of our hills are sparse. If you are trapped, climb up and out to open land only if you can. Be mindful of smoke, wind, and direction and location of the fire. Best to be in the safe zone where help is likely on its way.
• Have an "essentials list" for an extreme emergency.
• You should have a separate list for an early evacuation of the valley. This includes the personal property list of items that you would really hate to lose.
• Using wet blankets to protect from smoke and fire is dangerous. They can sear lungs and skin.
• Now is the time to remove all combustibles from near your house. For example, stacks of wood, propane bar.b.que or other propane bottles, chemicals, piles of junk. In the event of an evacuation, try to remove wicker or wood furniture or other combustibles out into the open, away from portals. The fire folk will decide what houses are able to be defended. Those that are defendable will be first priority. Try not to interfere with their work. Notes on a door saying where you have gone or if there is a pet missing are appropriate.
• Keep dry and green grasses and weeds mowed on your property. Fires often start in the grasses and then travel to bushes, then to trees, houses, piles, etc. If that is too much, mow 50 foot wide fire breaks near risky areas such as near the bosque, neighbors with dense properties, etc.