STRICTLY Relative to "WILDFIRE". Are you ready, are your "PRE-prepared". Is there one more thing you could do...???

[Binky]

Do fires normally start in the crowns of trees?

It's very normal, although fires can start anywhere, often even spontaneously given enough heat and dry static. Trees that have been lightning struck more often than not are struck somewhere between midway up the trunk and the crown and the crown will catch very quickly. No matter where a fire starts, the fire and heat rises so the crown is always going to get hotter and catch fire faster than at any other level on the tree. You know what else is normal - at least here in my province - 10,000 lightning strikes a day in or near places that are already burning because the heat from fires causes it's own weather and creates lightning. Just like the lightning you see directly above actively erupting volcanoes, the heat causes the lightning.

 

[elkhound]

It's very normal, although fires can start anywhere, often even spontaneously given enough heat and dry static. Trees that have been lightning struck more often than not are struck somewhere between midway up the trunk and the crown and the crown will catch very quickly. No matter where a fire starts, the fire and heat rises so the crown is always going to get hotter and catch fire faster than at any other level on the tree. You know what else is normal - at least here in my province - 10,000 lightning strikes a day in or near places that are already burning because the heat from fires causes it's own weather and creates lightning. Just like the lightning you see directly above actively erupting volcanoes, the heat causes the lightning.

running crown fires !! i know you know all about this...dang i miss the PNW..i really do.

 

[Haertig]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is - would you WANT your property to survive a wildfire?

This depends on where you live, how isolated you are, etc. But if you live in a place like is burning in California right now, do you want your house to be one of the sole survivors in all the devastation? Your house survived. So no insurance payout for you. You are surrounded by what looks like a war zone. No infrastructure left supporting you. No stores to shop in. No neighbors. Impassable areas. An abandoned zone for all practical purposes. But there your house stands, with you living in it's stinking smoke stained environment. With no insurance money to consider moving somewhere else. Where there might be people and support.

Now if you already live in the middle of nowhere and don't have any real supporting infrastructure to start with, you may want to have your house survive. But you sill might be looking out at what was once a beautiful landscape that now looks like it was hit by a nuclear bomb. Your beautiful fishing creek is now a sludge filled mudslide. And you might have peripheral property damage that needs repair, but nobody can get in there with the equipment needed to fix it. Or there's nobody to do the fixing - because they all left when their houses burned down.

Sometimes, for some people, starting over in a new place after an insurance payout might be the more desirable option. This is our plan. We are prepped for this. In this case, that is called "financial prepping". I don't want to live in what looks like an apocalypse zone, all alone in the only house that survived, eating my squirreled away rice and beans. I do have those rice and beans squirreled away, but that's prepping for surviving a short term disaster at my current location. Once I am in need of a long term solution, that's where the financial prepping piece comes into play. There needs to be a balance in prepping IMHO. Not all financial, not all stockpiled supplies. You need both. In my case, the "wildfire burning down everything in sight" scenario is something I have decided to address with financial prepping.

 

[UserNameTaken]

First, those displaced went to shelters, friends, family, or hotels. Those with homes still standing will be able to return in a day or two.

Most of the celebrities who got burned out went to their second or sixth homes. It looked like Jim Woods was in a hotel suite.

Those who were burned out will get red cross vouchers. Probably most have insurance (guessing from the demographics). You don't get homes in Malibu or Pacific Palisades if you aren't at least a deca-millionaire.

As for being prepared myself. I live in a low risk area, my house is fire "resistant" (stucco, tile, no open eves) our "yard" is decorative gravel with desert-scape plants (not pine trees). We keep two 100 ft hoses on reels front and back, that can reach all our yard and our neighbors homes too if we double up. Our "bug out" stuff is ready.

Short of extreme measures (adding water tanks, gas fire pump, fire slime) about all we can do is keep our insurance paid.

 

[Weedygarden]

Probably most have insurance (guessing from the demographics)

If you watched Doug's video that was shared, (Doug and Stacy Youtube channel), you will see that some people had their insurance cancel the fire part very, very recently, as though they had been informed of the pending fires. Watch all of his video. It seems to be another planned fire situation in the L.A. area, maybe like what happened in Hawaii.

 

[RJ2019]

There are two sides to this. Having just been through it and thinking and knowing it’s really just “stuff” but when it happens and you lose something that was given to you as a bit of a legacy from someone who has passed on, all I can say is, “easier said than done.”

I've lived it too, but wasn't as impacted at the loss of "stuff" such as family heirlooms that other people seem to have suffered from. However, this does open the door to discussion about where people are putting all their stuff. If it's all in one place it all gets lost at once.

 

[M0del_31]

Will insurance cover arson fires?

 

[angie_nrs]

Fire extinguishers are an important investment as well.

Yep.....I have those on the wall and fire blankets as well, especially near the kitchen. However, those won't do much good if the woods are on fire.

We have old loggers paths going to the back of our property that we keep open with the side by side. IF a fire were to come this way from the east, we would have a way for the fire department to get back there and (hopefully) try to stop it before heading our way. Their trucks might get scratched up a bit, but they could get back there and turn around.

This thread reminds me......we need to get another lane going to the back of the property. Hubby has the equipment to do it and we're not getting any younger, so we should get on that ASAP.

 

[RJ2019]

Will insurance cover arson fires?

If you weren't the one committing arson it does.

 

[Grimm]

Not sure if anyone cares or remembers we had to evacuate due to a wild fire a few years ago. I really took it as a lesson on being prepared for anything and put together 2 rolling totes that had things we would need if we had to evacuate. The totes are large and have handles to pull them along. I had K cut a hole in the short side of each tote and install a cat flap that locks. The idea was to use them once we got safe to house the cats' litter boxes to keep the dogs out. One tote has supplies for all our animals and will cover a month of food and litter. I have bowls and even water in it to cover the cats and dogs plus toys and treats. The other tote has food and water for the humans enough for a month and supplies like a single burner stove and pot for cooking. Dishes too. There is an up to date binder with all our important info and documents. I also keep cash in the totes to cover any immediate needs if we can't get to a bank.

I know there is more I could add or have not mentioned here but this is where we are at right now.

 

[sonya123]

Im prepared to a point. I keep the vegetation and flammable stuff away from my house, and I have a backup plan in case of fire. I have the things I need ready in just a couple places and from a previous fire have learned what is and is not important to take. I'm not overly attached to my "stuff"...I've seriously seen people evacuating from a fire loading trailers full of furniture and other meaningless items. My house is not hardened against fire, nor am I attached to it so I'm prepared to walk away from it and start again somewhere else. Practicing non-attachment to material items is one of the bigger preps you can make. Carrying cash is probably the single biggest thing you can do.

what about your animals?

 

[RJ2019]

what about your animals?

What about them?

 

[Hardcalibres]

Do fires normally start in the crowns of trees?

Mostly not.....but most people get their houses burned down by fires that started some distance away......so is the ignition mode that relevant?

Fires can start in the crown when trees are hit by lightning.

The four main causes/ignition modes of rural fires might be:

1. Arson
2. Lightning strike
3. Power Pole top fires
4. Malfunctioning machinery

 

[sonya123]

What about them?

how will you deal with them when a wildfire is near your property? Don't you have livestock too?

 

[Hardcalibres]

how will you deal with them when a wildfire is near your property? Don't you have livestock too?

When the fire season starts, we graze one paddock down quite hard. That then becomes the paddock we would move the cattle to if a fire is approaching.

I also graze the paddock near the road down hard.....because arson, pole top fires and cigarette butts out of windows all happen at road boundaries.

 

[UserNameTaken]

We get a lot of fires here from trailer safety chains dragging and sparking on the highway. Or vehicles sparking for some reason. But usually not when the wind's blowing. And they usually get them out pdq.

 

[Weedygarden]

There are two sides to this. Having just been through it and thinking and knowing it’s really just “stuff” but when it happens and you lose something that was given to you as a bit of a legacy from someone who has passed on, all I can say is, “easier said than done.”

This is so true. I have scanned all of my old family photos, 100s of them and saved them and shared them with others. Unless there are copies of photos or images, they are gone.
We had a house fire when I was a young teenager. What a horrible experience. Smoke damage gets what the fire doesn't.

 

[Hardcalibres]

This is so true. I have scanned all of my old family photos, 100s of them and saved them and shared them with others. Unless there are copies of photos or images, they are gone.
We had a house fire when I was a young teenager. What a horrible experience. Smoke damage gets what the fire doesn't.

Correct.

Anyone who says they don't care if their house burns down should probably give that a try and report back to us in a year or two later.

The reality is that there is a lot more to rebuilding (your whole life) than just the money.

For a start, a lot of what you value most wont be available anymore.

People should really try hard to save what they have.

In practice, the people who handle being burned out the worst, are older people.......who often run out of energy and determination before rebuilding is finished.

As someone who is prepared to defend my property from fire and watches my insurance premiums increase each year, I actually would like to see higher premiums charged to those that wont prepare their homes from fire, build/buy homes that are indefensible from fire and wont try to defend their home when a fire comes along.

That those people would pay more for the same insurance cover as those that work hard to reduce risk, is only fair.

 

[Mountain trapper]

how will you deal with them when a wildfire is near your property? Don't you have livestock too?

When we had a fire (300,000+ acres) get close to our property a couple years ago I opened our gates to let the cattle out. I figured that I'd round them up later in the fall and bring them home. They never left the property. Maybe they never realized the gates were open. The forest service firefighters did a great job of keeping the fire away our place.

 

[sonya123]

I looked it up, it said 29 building were destroyed by wildfire last year in Virginia, so it happens here too.
There was a large fire in 23 not too far from here too

 

[Mountain trapper]

I looked it up, it said 29 building were destroyed by wildfire last year in Virginia, so it happens here too.
There was a large fire in 23 not too far from here too

About 4 years ago there was another fire in our area. This one started from an overheated trailer bearing on the highway. It also burned over 300,000 acres. We had a large timbered property about 15 miles from where the fire started. The fire completely burned every single tree on the property.

 

[joel]

On the farm we have dirt roads around each field & we till the roads at least once a year to stop fire from spreading from one field to another.
This cost very little to maintain & it has stopped one small fire from spreading to other farms on a windy day.
If the fire starts in the home, the barn & fields will be safe, but we will lose the home.
Fire can jump a road if a large tree burns & falls over the road, so it is not foolproof, but nothing is.

 

[Robert Stewart]

As someone who comes from an fire fighting background with a grandfather and great grandfather (mums father and uncle) who fought 1955 Rendelsham bushfire back in days of bags, beaters, my father who fought and seen the horrors of Ash Wednesday 1983 I was drilled as a child and young adult about importance of always being prepared incase a repeat of 1939,1955,1983 or even the apocalyptic 2009 Black Saturday fires were to occur

Now as an adult who has added responsibility of looking after mums home/paddock its located on having a bushfire plan became essential after moving back home in mid 2021 due to housing shortage crisis it has taken roughly 3.5 years to put together a well structured fire defense plan which included doing a module of living with fire and an undergraduate in emergency management that caters to defending but also direct attack

Initial defense/spot fire extinguishment in front and backyard near house/shed will be from hoses attached to town water connected taps however those won't last long as pumps are shut off if powerlines are impacted I mitigated this setback in 2022 with installation of a 7.5 hp petrol driven fire pump of which is supplied by a local underground bore/aquifer it throws out a fair bit of water when running full and special over drive speed

To counteract potential loss of initial defense garden hoses either to loss of mains pressure or heat damage I've got an ozito brand 40mm lay flat fire hose that is 36 meters long with camlock fittings attached to the fire pump its used daily as a way of cleaning out and refilling chook/duck pools and keeping pile burns cool during winter but holds a fair bit of pressure and is capable of reaching half way up yard to back fence as well as down drive way out to front

I've also got my 400 litre trailer unit that has same hp fire pump with a 25 mm ozito lay flat hose which is capable of putting out spot fires up and down my street as well as around the township

All of my arsenal at hand is also backed up by a TTI brand 16 litre knapsack and a whole heap of buckets in storage

 

[Hardcalibres]

On the farm we have dirt roads around each field & we till the roads at least once a year to stop fire from spreading from one field to another.
This cost very little to maintain & it has stopped one small fire from spreading to other farms on a windy day.
If the fire starts in the home, the barn & fields will be safe, but we will lose the home.
Fire can jump a road if a large tree burns & falls over the road, so it is not foolproof, but nothing is.

Even if those roads/firebreaks are too narrow to stop an incoming fire front, they are a great place to start a back burn out in advance of the fire front, burning towards it and consuming it's fuel.

Back burns are arguably the most powerful weapon the fire fighters have.

People should have an efficient/fast way to light back burns like the liquid fueled fire drippers - I have one.

https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/...nCmfXu5a7ldj6Ue5yT4qtYf3gy5GN6UJ2d0VByRgKiD0n

 

[Mountain trapper]

We live in a very dry area where fires are a fact of life. For the last few years I've been wanting to build a fire water trailer. I was thinking of a 500 gallon tank mounted on a custom made tandem axle trailer that I can move around where needed. This might be the year that I actually get to make it. This spring I'll start putting together the materials for it.

 

[UserNameTaken]

On the farm we have dirt roads around each field & we till the roads at least once a year to stop fire from spreading from one field to another.
This cost very little to maintain & it has stopped one small fire from spreading to other farms on a windy day.
If the fire starts in the home, the barn & fields will be safe, but we will lose the home.
Fire can jump a road if a large tree burns & falls over the road, so it is not foolproof, but nothing is.

Thing is, these wind driven CA fires don't stop for roads. Embers start spot fires up to a half mile ahead, and entire areas errupt almost simutaneously. The only things that stop them are the ocean, wind dying down, or rain. But firebreaks can really help contain "normal" fires.

 

[UserNameTaken]

We live in a very dry area where fires are a fact of life. For the last few years I've been wanting to build a fire water trailer. I was thinking of a 500 gallon tank mounted on a custom made tandem axle trailer that I can move around where needed. This might be the year that I actually get to make it. This spring I'll start putting together the materials for it.

I've seen people doing "water haul" in the county that use a couple of totes on utility or car trailers. Add a gas pump and it could be very handy on acerage I'd think.

 

[Supervisor42]

Thing is, these wind driven CA fires don't stop for roads. Embers start spot fires up to a half mile ahead, and entire areas errupt almost simutaneously. The only things that stop them are the ocean, wind dying down, or rain. But firebreaks can really help contain "normal" fires.

What would be wrong if they used our metal "Hurricane roofing"?
Oh yeah, they ain't purty, and are expensive.
When you look at aerial photos after a strong hurricane levels blocks of houses to the ground, the 'lone survivors' have that metal roofing on them.
...Looking back at you in perfect condition.
Once a roof blows off, the entire house quickly follows.
I am certain that falling Embers would have no effect on them either.

 

[Hardcalibres]

What would be wrong if they used our metal "Hurricane roofing"?
Oh yeah, they ain't purty, and are expensive.
When you look at aerial photos after a strong hurricane levels blocks of houses to the ground, the 'lone survivors' have that metal roofing on them.
...Looking back at you in perfect condition.
Once a roof blows off, the entire house quickly follows.
I am certain that falling Embers would have no effect on them either.

Metal roofs are great for fire resistance.....partly because they wont catch from embers......but also because they are gapless/impermeable and wont allow swirling embers to enter the roof space. If you seal the eaves and don't mount anything else flammable up on the roof (like plastic bodied evaporative AC), then that all works together to resist fire. Galvanized steel is the best because it reflects most of the radiant heat.

We have a steel roof and sealed eaves. We also specced the roof with heavier gauge sheets than normal (that would take longer to soften/deform) and put glass wool insulation between the underside of the sheets and the battens. We also put another layer of glass wool on the ceiling panels.

Just like the third little pig, our walls are brick.......and our window and door frames are all metal. There is nothing flammable exposed anywhere on the outside of the buildings.

We laugh at the big bad wolf.

 

[Jen]

This winter finds me in an uncomfortable (and scary) temporary living situation. Not only am I not ready, but I am also not sure what I can do, about that.

I have established more and more caches. I currently/temporally live in a building where I am the only person who speaks/enunciates cleanly the English language. I suspect in a building fire that could be a problem. Just another reason to be happy with achieving 78 y/o.

So......are you ready. They are saying in the California fire 300,000 will need to evacuate. Where to that many humans go, on short notice..??

I've probably posted this, but I've lived through hurricanes, brush fires, tornadoes, and blizzards. I am a minimalist at preparation. I am always ready to hunker down and stay indoors if I need to. Right now, that is the need with (only) 6 inches of snow, Oklahoma is a treacherous place to be out and about in.......so we are prepared to stay home. I was prepared to stay home when we got 30 inches of snow in 24 hours in Colorado. I went ahead and went out in Alaska snow of those amounts but was ready to shovel off my car (top and all) when it was time to go home.

If I have to run.......I know what few things I must take and I will have already figured out what direction to go. The plan is in my mind and I do not panic in emergency situations .... well.... except when my little daughter ran into a door knob and cut her eyebrow. My husband took over that time and our doctor came in at 9PM and stitched her right up.