Wildfires - be prepared or chance being a statistic

 

We’ve all heard the phrase, “It is not a matter of ‘if’ another wildfire will occur in our area, but ‘when.’”

“Santa Barbara County has not officially declared the beginning of fire season 2008, but we have seen that we are already in ‘burning’ season,” states Capt. Eli Iskow in a press release on fire awareness. “The fire in Sierra Madres at the end of April  burned hundreds of acres and caused the immediate evacuation of over 1,000 people in a neighborhood that looks very to similar to many of our own.”

The firefighters of Santa Barbara County remind residents that property can be replaced, but your life and family cannot. They urge residents to evacuate when told to do so by the authorities. Brushfire fatalities most commonly occur when people leave their home too late, or are overtaken by the fire, they say.

 

Defending your home is only feasible with considerable planning, according to Iskow. If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, you should plan on evacuating as soon as told:

• Are you physically fit to fight spot fires in and around your home for up to 10 hours or more?

• Are you and your family members mentally, physically and emotionally able to cope with the intense smoke, heat, stress and noise for a brushfire while defending the home?

• Can you protect your home while also caring for members of your family and pets?

• Do you have the necessary resources and equipment to effectively fight a fire?

• Does your home have defensible space of at least 100 feet and is cleared of flammable materials and vegetation?

• Is your home constructed to resist fire?

The Santa Barbara County Fire Departments want to help citizens get a head start on building defensible space around their home and property and creating an evacuation plan, Iskow said. Residents can go to http://www.sbcfire.com and review “Protect your home from wildfire” and the “Wildfire action plan.” They also may visit any local fire station and ask for advice, or request a home visit for a free defensible space fire safety inspection.