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Burning Truth #4: It’s the embers that will get you
This little ember went to your attic.
This little ember flew into your house.
This little ember had a pile of leaves under your porch.
This little ember had none.
This little ember cried “Wee! Wee! Wee!” as it burned down your home.
Yes, it’s the embers from a wildfire that set most homes on fire. Not the flames from the main fire. Nor the heat.
Think of embers as flying baby fires looking for a place to nest and grow. And, you don’t have just one to worry about. A wildfire will generate millions, and winds may throw hundreds of thousands of these micro-infernos your way. They can fly as much as five miles to your home where they just need a tiny bit of fuel to grow into mature bonfires.
The good news is that you can protect your home against these tiny predators.
Look around you. Do you see places where embers could get in or nest right now? Maybe you see an open window. Or an unprotected attic vent. Or some nice dry mulch next to the deck. Are there pine needles on your roof or in your gutters? These are open invitations for hungry embers to roost.
What can you do now to prevent embers from finding a home in your home?
If this post started you thinking, please think about
making a small donation
to make preparing for disaster fun and empowering.
For more insight on the dangers of embers:
- Embers happen!
- Here’s a stunning video of an ember-hardened house surviving an inferno that came right up to its front door.
- Here’s a checklist of things you can do to protect your home against embers: Prepare Your Home – UCANR Fire Network
Burning Truth #5: You can control the fire’s path to your home
Imagine that you are a raging wildfire, looking for things to consume.
Up ahead you see some mouthwatering homes. You throw some embers at them to see what you might catch. One lands in some tasty dry mulch. You munch along that and to a delicious wooden fence. Gleefully gulping your way along the fence, you run right up to a whole house. Dinner is served!
Still hungry, you try for another home. It too has a fence, but, sadly, there’s a wide cement walkway between the fence and the house. And there’s no vegetation anywhere around the house for you to snack on. There aren’t even any dried leaves or pine needles on the roof. There’s just no way you can get close enough to get a decent mouthful.
Guess you’ll just have to settle for the first one.
The news media delights in showing us pictures of one home left unscathed when everything around it has been destroyed by wildfire. Such as the famous red-roofed house of Lahaina.
We are amazed and think, “How lucky!” But it is not just luck. By blocking all the paths that fire can use to reach your home, you can change the odds of it being burned. A lot.
Look around you. What potential fire paths do you see?
If this post started you thinking, please think about
making a small donation
to make preparing for disaster fun and empowering.
For more insights on how you can keep wildfires from reaching and igniting your home:
- Change the odds, save your house
- Here’s a video about how Your Home Can Survive a Wildfire
- Here’s a checklist of things you can do to Prepare Your Home – UCANR Fire Network
Burning Truth #6: A bit of smoke and ash CAN hurt you
Imagine coming home after a wildfire has passed. The air is still hazy with smoke. Everything is covered with ash, inside and out. You’re eager to start the cleanup, and so you arm yourself with a broom and good intentions.
“Just a couple quick sweeps and my porch will be clear,” you think to yourself, dragging the broom across the wooden boards, humming happily as you’re eager to get back to regular life again.
But life after a wildfire rarely goes as planned, does it? The ash, stubborn as a bad houseguest, refuses to stay where you put it. One sweep stirs up a dusty rebellion, sending clouds of debris into the air. You cough a couple of times, your trusty cloth mask proving no match for the chaos, and that’s when it hits you: Cleaning up after a wildfire isn’t just a chore; it’s a health hazard in disguise.
Is it a health hazard?
Unlike that favorite campfire you make each year to get that perfect smore, when a wildfire burns it’s much more than just trees and vegetation that are consumed. Fires are hungry! Sometimes structures, vehicles, electronics, plastics, and even soil can be consumed, releasing a dangerous mix of chemicals into the environment and the air you breathe.
Breathing wildfire smoke isn’t like inhaling campfire fumes. PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter), are of greatest health concern, because they can enter the lung and heart, causing serious health effects. Short-term exposure can cause coughing, wheezing, and irritated eyes, while long-term exposure may lead to more serious issues like heart disease, lung damage, and even cancer. YIKES.
That small innocent-looking pile of ash you were just sweeping up? It wasn’t just a few small trees. It was also a neighbor’s lawn mower, three old gallons of paint, four old tires, and insulation from a warehouse 6 miles away. It probably contained lead, arsenic, mercury, or other heavy metals.
Ash is also a potential health hazard, not just a nuisance. Touching it with bare skin can cause irritation or even burns. Moving it can release harmful particles into the air, creating an invisible cloud of risks. These particles can easily be inhaled or settle back down on the most unexpected surfaces.. So, that can of Pepsi you just found on the back porch? Give it a good wipe before taking a sip. Carefully.
If you find yourself outdoors in smoky air, how will you protect your lungs? Do you have masks ready? N95 or better??
What about inside? Would you close your windows and doors? Could you get an air purifier?
What about that ash? How will you keep it from taking off again? Do you have gloves and masks in your cleaning supplies? What can you hose down rather than wipe off?
Wildfire smoke and ash may not seem scary, but they’re more dangerous than you might think.
What can you do today to get ready to deal with smoke and ash tomorrow?
If this post started you thinking, please think about
making a small donation
to make preparing for disaster fun and empowering.
For more insights about the dangers of hidden toxins, peruse these posts:
- Don’t inhale! | Creative Crisis Leadership
- Why Wildfire Smoke is a Health Concern | US EPA
- Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke | CDC
Check out our other Burning Truths.
Burning Truth #7: Preparing for disaster is a process
We’ve all seen the images: Long lines of traffic moving in one direction, families tossing belongings into the car, fleeing in the face of a raging wildfire, a devastating hurricane, or rising floodwaters.
What if that was you? Imagine that a wildfire is coming, and you have just been ordered to evacuate. You must leave home quickly, and don’t know when you will come back.
Suddenly you have a million things to do. You frantically search for the kids’ shoes. The cat has sprouted the claws of a tiger, and its carrier has shrunk to half its usual size. The dried leaves on the porch look like a major bonfire waiting to happen. Your phone is pinging and ringing with worried messages.
You’re kicking yourself for not having packed those go-bags and not having a plan for what you would do in this situation. Like you meant to do.
The truth is, most of us aren’t prepared for disaster. Life gets in the way — work, family, the constant demands of daily living. The idea of creating a “go-bag” or developing an evacuation plan can feel overwhelming, like just one more thing to add to our already overflowing to-do lists.
But, what if you thought of preparing for disaster as an ongoing process of small steps, rather than a monumental ordeal? Like cleaning, it’s something you can do a little bit at a time — with occasional deep dives — and that’s never truly “finished.”
Your focus shifts from “must-dos” to “what matters most.” You get to decide what worries you most. You get to take small manageable steps. You get to think of preparing for disaster as something you do, not as something you have to do.
What are your top concerns? If you had to evacuate today, what would be your biggest worries?
What one small step can you take now?
If this post started you thinking, please think about
making a small donation
to make preparing for disaster fun and empowering.
For inspiration on small things you might do today, check out these posts:
Burning Truth #8: Good information can be hard to come by
Truth #8: Good information can be hard to come by
Imagine that your phone alerts you that a wildfire has started, not so far away. When you look out the window, you notice the orange sky is getting darker with smoke and ash. Now you’re getting nervous. Is the fire coming your way? How fast? If you have to evacuate, which way should you go? You need more information, how do you get it?
Having already signed up for emergency alerts you got a head start with an early notification. Your local newspaper’s website reports the fire has progressed to a site 30 miles. However, this contradicts your county’s official website, which states the fire is still 50 miles away. Which one is accurate?
Talking to your neighbors, one says that they heard that the wildfire was traveling away and not a danger. A second neighbor heard on a local news radio station that the wildfire is mostly contained. A third read on Facebook that it was not contained at all and traveling fast in your direction. Which do you act on?
Between too little information and too much information (sprinkled with the inevitable misinformation), getting the right information can be difficult in a rapidly changing situation. In a wildfire (or any disaster), accurate information is critical to making good decisions. Unfortunately, wildfires travel fast and unpredictably — even official sources may not be able to keep up!
Always, err on the safe side. If you feel you may be at risk, then just leave.
Do you know where to get your local official information?
Are you signed up for emergency alerts?
If this post started you thinking, please think about
making a small donation
to make preparing for disaster fun and empowering.