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How to Prepare Before Wildfire Season

Wildfire Season is Here

Typically wildfire season runs July through October. We wanted to create this guide as a resource for you as you plan and prepare for potential wildfire damage to your home or business. Many tips and sources are from California, but they apply in all states where wildfire risk exists like Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, and Texas. But wildfire risk is increasing in other states as well.

According to research from the First Street Foundation, 80 million homes have some level of wildfire risk in the next 30 years, and at least 10 million homes fall between the “major” or “extreme” risk categories. States like California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Oklahoma have the most at-risk homes. But states including New Jersey, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas will likely see their fire risks grow more than 200% in the next 30 years.

Wildfires do serious damage. In 2021, more than 2 million acres were burned from wildfires, with more than 3,000 structures damaged and destroyed, and three fatalities, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Fire can happen to any property. According to ReadyforWildfire.org, a resource guide from Cal Fire, your home can catch on fire from flying embers, direct flames from a fire or nearby burning home and radiant heat from burning plants and buildings.

Let’s look at some ways to prepare BEFORE facing a wildfire threat.

Preparing Before a Wildfire

Understand Your Risk Level

No matter where you live, you need to know if your home has a risk of wildfire. As we enter a season where expert sources like the National Interagency Fire Center are forecasting record-breaking wildfires. You can use a site like riskfactor.com to understand the risk to your specific property. Here are some other tips on how to prepare.

Sign up for alerts:

• FEMA App
• National Weather Service
• Community Alerts Emergency Alert System (EAS) & Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
• Air Quality Alerts
• California residents can sign up to get live updates about active wildfires from Cal Fire

Here are some tips on how to prepare your home from the Sacramento Bee:

• Cover vents with 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch metal mesh
• Install dual-paned windows that have one pane made of tempered glass
• Ensure walls are made with ignition-resistant building materials, such as stucco, fire retardant and treated wood.
• Cover the chimney and stove pipe outlets with a non-flammable screen
• Keep fire extinguishers, shovel, rake, bucket and hose nearby
• Landscape with less flammable plants, such as aloe, hedging roses and maple trees
• Upkeep lawns regularly by removing fallen leaves, branches and dead vegetation
• Report power line hazards
• Install smoke detectors and make sure they are working properly

Make a plan

• Create an evacuation plan that includes escape routes by foot and car
• Make an emergency supply kit

Review your Documents

• Make sure your insurance policies and personal documents, like ID, are up to date.
• According to gov, “Before a #wildfire place critical documents in a fire safe #WildfireSafety”

Once you are as prepared as you can be, check our solutions for storing your vital documents and valuables:

• Read our best storage products for Wildfire Post here
• SureSeal – offers rugged portable fire protection.
  • Click here to shop SureSeal UL 1/2-Hour Fire Rated.
• FireCube – offers more space and flexibility to file.
  • Click here to shop FireCube.
• Turtle – for those that need more space and want a traditional looking file cabinet.
  • Click here to shop Turtle.