Last November I was the guest of Ed Orre, battalion chief for Cal Fire in the counties east of San Francisco Bay. The lessons I learned while attending a conference there bear consideration in view of the wildfires now raging throughout California and the west. The Lake County, CA fire (AKA …
WHAT IF MATTERS The west is in flames It’s hotter than ever Trees dying in record numbers Smoke and ash spreading afar Filling the air with carbon dioxide Making things even worse. Homes are burning Memories, lives, communities, lost Animals both domestic and wild burnt and dying Heavy metals, asbestos, …
We’ve made some updates to the Wildfireprevention.info site in preparation for the second edition of The Homeowner’s Guide to Wildfire Prevention. We were using a tool to offer readers posts related to the ones they are reading. This app had links to unwanted ads and irrelevant news. We’ve turned off …
We are seeing a “perfect storm” situation throughout the western United States and Canada with record-breaking heat, record fuel loads, record drought, and record losses to wildfires. The cost of suppressing these fires is depleting the funds budgeted for fire prevention. To make things worse, the number of firefighters available is …
Think of home ignition areas in three levels. Your motive and strategy for fire protection is different at five feet than at fifty. In this post, I explain the distinctions. This is the fourth lesson on home wildfire prevention based on the WUI.
WUI Lesson 2: The homeowners’ victim mentality is not justified As the number of wildfires and their intensity skyrockets nation-wide, it has been realized that the problem is solvable with new approaches to wildfire protection that emphasize ignition resistant buildings and reduced ignition potential near structures. The homeowners’ victim mentality …
Lesson 3: The conditions required for ignition to occur. The fire must be close enough for flying firebrands or flames to contact the ignitable portions of the structure and burn long enough to cause flaming ignition. We only see 1% of what is happening in a fire, as we don’t …
Dr. Sieben is the featured author at A Great Good Place for Books at 7 pm, June 18th, 6120 LaSalle Avenue, in the Montclair district of Oakland. He will present photographs demonstrating the recommendations made in his book, The Homeowners’ Guide to Wildfire Prevention. This is your chance to ask …
WUI Lesson 1: Wildfire Prevention May Preempt the Need for Suppression This is the first in a series of WUI Lessons, based on the International Wildland Urban Interface meeting in Reno, NV in March, 2015. In this post I’ll explain some terms that have changed, and why. The phrase “Wildland/Urban …
The Cheapest Fire Insurance You Can Get Is Knowledge Most homeowners have no clue as to how they can protect their home from wildfire. Nonetheless, there is a lot they can and must do before a major firestorm hits and overwhelms firefighters. When firefighters are called upon to put out …
