Firewise
For the past three years, I’ve
partnered with the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management
and the National Interagency Fire Center to produce TV public
service announcements on wildfire prevention. Perhaps you saw
them on television in Idaho. They offered some good tips on how
to protect your property if you live in an area where a wildfire
may strike. Here are some more hints:
First, prepare a “defensible space”
around your home. That simply means clearing an area at least
30 feet around the perimeter of your home of trees, branches,
twigs, brush and any other material that can act as fuel for a
fire. Move firewood piles away from your home and outbuildings.
If you’re building a home or cabin in a
fire-prone area, use fire-resistant materials. Research says the
greatest fuel hazard in wild areas are not trees and brush, but
rather, are wood roofs and siding, decks, and single-pane windows.
Landscape with plants that stay green longer into the summer and
have the ability to slow down fire.
Too often, people become “firewise”
only when they see the flames or smell the smoke of a wildland
fire. Often, it’s too late by then. Beat nature to the punch
by protecting your property before fire season arrives.
It’s all about homeowners and communities
taking responsibility for their property. If you don’t take
a few, simple precautions, firefighters can’t be expected
to save your home. Firefighting agencies and rural fire departments
won’t put their people at unnecessary risk because you haven’t
done your part.
Resources
Firewise Public Service Announcement from Congressman
Simpson (Real
Audio needed to view & listen to these files):
Read about the Firewise
program.
The National Interagency Fire Center is located
in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about what it does to monitor
and fight forest fires.
What is the National
Fire Plan?
Find out what the Bush Administration’s
Healthy
Forest Initiative mean for wildfire prevention?
