How You and Your Home Can Survive a Wildfire

When a severe wildfire breaks out, survival and how you can protect yourself, your loved ones, and your home from harm become your top priorities. Unfortunately, if you had no warning of a California wildfire that has stretched to great lengths, there might be little you can do for your home, but your own safety and health is the most important aspect. Today, we want to focus on the aspects that can keep a home safe and ways that you can stay safe once a wildfire has broken out and is taking out entire towns along the way.

Home Designing That is Good for Wildfire Safety 

Nobody wants to face the reality that their home has been burned to the ground due to a wildfire that blazed out of control. Southern Californians do not always know that the longer between wildfires, the more intense one will be when it finally happens. The way to help your home to survive is to realize that a wildfire can attack your home in many different ways. Building codes from long ago were made with the intention of stopping a fire only if it started inside your home, such as from your oven or when a cigarette is not entirely burned out. Now, California is taking wildfires more seriously and, as a result, they have addressed a wide variety of construction methods and materials that will help protect your home when it is exposed to areas where wildfires run rampant.

Where You Build: You want to put distance between your home and a wildfire if you are thinking of building in a certain area but have not yet done so. This means utilizing your space with patios, driveways, pools, or plants that are immune to fires. You want to ensure that, if you are constructing your driveway, it is accessible and easy for firefighters to bring their heavy equipment to your home.

Safe Roof Styles: New roofs in California are made to interlock tightly and are put over fire-resistant sheets to prevent fires from entering your home from above. This is unlike the old style Spanish roof tiles that make it easy for embers and fire to fall down into your roof and set your home ablaze. 

Resistant Exteriors: Special design attention should be given to overhangs on your home, which is where flames will be trapped and temperatures seem to be highest. You can even install a physical firewall in your home for extra protection. 

Protection Through Windows: Double glazed windows with tempered glass on the exterior is a better method for protecting your home from harm, even when windows are not the best protection we have. 

Doors: Wood doors are made in a way that can give 20 minutes of fire protection, which is why many homeowners are now considering metal doors that can be faced in any material that you like. 

Special Fire-Related Equipment: Another method that many people are considering is to install sprinkler heads on the roof of their home that can turn on automatically with a valve.

If you build your home or upgrade your home in these ways, there is a chance that it will have a better survival rate if we experience another wildfire like the Camp Fire in the months or years to come. It also protects the safety of those who live there as well as the firefighters who come to your area to offer assistance.

Fleeing Your Home to Protect Your Safety 

Perhaps the wildfire has already started and you are faced with the decision of evacuating your home based on the area you reside in and how close to home a current wildfire is burning. When you are asked the question, “Should you flee or fight?” fleeing will almost always save lives.

Many homeowners wait to evacuate, and instead, the first thing that they do is act like a firefighter by choosing to stay and defend their home. Many experts say that you can increase the chance of surviving a fire by leaving before it gets so bad that an evacuation is needed. Others say that homes can burn down from a simple act, such as a few loose embers falling onto a gutter of a home that has a bit of debris in it. This means that, within seconds, you could lose your life and your family could be threatened due to staying behind. A house and its belongings are not worth dying for, which is why it is a good idea to hit the road early before people start driving erratically because they noticed flames in their rearview mirror.

If you happen to be caught in the midst of a wildfire that occurred and got out of hand quickly without enough time to evacuate, the most dangerous place to be is uphill from the fire and downwind from its flames. You should always follow the wind to help you find the safest place possible in the midst of a fire. If the wind is behind the fire and you find that it is wiping out areas around you, you should always move quickly so that you can protect yourself.

By following these measures, you could save your life and the lives of others.

If You or a Loved One Have Been Injured or Killed 

Facing the aftermath of a wildfire in California can be one of the most life-changing and devastating aspects that you will ever experience in your life. Our California wildfire attorneys at Marlene Leiva Law Group are here for those who have been impacted by the Camp Fire in many ways, such as by sustaining serious injuries or losing a loved one to the Camp Fire. If you have suffered a wide variety of losses, we want to help you bring a wildfire lawsuit to protect you and your loved ones as you move forward. Please contact us for more information on your case at 415-459-7300.