Wildfire Action Plan: Stay or Go?

Wildfire Action Plan Saving Lives and Property through Advance Planning.

The fire season is now a year-round reality in Southern California, requiring
firefighters and residents to be on heightened alert for the threat of wildfire throughout the year.
the reality is that in a major wildfire, there will simply not be enough fire engines or firefighters to defend every home.

Successfully preparing for a wildfire requires you to take personal responsibility
for protecting yourself, your family and your property.
The Ventura County Fire Department has developed a homeowners Wildfire Action Plan
which covers the following topics;

• Defensible Space, DEFENSIBLE SPACE WORKS!
  
• Emergency Supply Checklist, The American Red Cross recommends every family have an emergency supply kit assembled long before a wildfire or other emergency occurs.
  
• Stay or Go?, Leave Early? Stay and Defend?
  If you live in the Wildland/Urban Interface area, then you are in danger of experiencing a wildfire. During wildfires, evacuations are put in place to protect lives. You can replace your property, but not your life, Sheltering in place, or staying to defend your home, requires considerable planning Fire agencies cannot make that decision for you. It’s up to you to determine whether you are capable of staying and defending your home.
  
• Prepare Your Family Checklist,
  
• A Wildfire-Ready Home, A Wildfire-Ready Home,
  
• Leave Early Checklist, By leaving early, you give your family the best chance of surviving a wildfire. You also help firefighters by keeping roads clear of congestion,
  enabling them to move more freely and do their job.
  
• Stay And Defend Checklist,
  Pop Quiz -
  
  1. Are you physically fit to fight small fires in and around your home for up to 10 hours or more?
  2. Are you and your family members mentally, physically and emotionally able to cope with the intense smoke, heat, stress and noise of a brush fire while defending your home?
  3. Can you protect your home while also caring for members of your family, pets, etc.?
  4. Do you have the necessary resources and equipment to effectively fight a fire?
  5. Does your home have defensible space of at least 100 feet and is it cleared of flammable materials and vegetation?
  6. Is your home constructed to resist fire?
  7. If you answered “No” to any of these questions, then plan to leave early.
• Your Own Wildfire Action Plan, Write up your Wildfire Action Plan and post it in a location where every member of your family can see it. Rehearse it with your family.

Each year, wildfires consume hundreds of homes in the Wildland/Ur­ban Interface (WUI). However, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) estimates that as many as 80 percent of the homes lost to wildfires could have been saved if their owners had only followed a few simple fire-safe practices.
It’s not a question of if but when the next major wildfire will occur. That’s why the most important person in protecting your life and property is not the firefighter, but you.
Through advance planning and preparation, we can all be ready for wildfire. Please use the links provided you will find it helpful in creating heightened awareness and a more fire-safe environ­ment for you and your family.
Write up your Wildfire Action Plan and post it in a location where
every member of your family can see it. Rehearse it with your family.

Sources:
Ventura County - Wildfire Action Plan
Firewise Newsletter -(September/October 2008 - Firewise Newsletter)