If the month of June is any indication of what the 2016 Wildfire Season will bring then California firefighters are in for a long, hot summer. In the second half of June alone, firefighters battled the Sherpa fire (Santa Barbara County), Fish Fire (LA County), Border Fire (San Diego County), Frazier Fire (San Luis Obispo County) and the devastating Erskine Fire (Kern County). We even witnessed a smaller blaze break out in Orange County in the Laguna area last week but thankfully this did not amount to much. But make no mistake, our risk is tremendous this summer which is why it is so important for individuals, particularly those that live in more rural surroundings, to practice and sustain resiliency. Cal Fire explains what these resilience-building measures are in their “Ready, Set, Go” campaign found @ http://www.readyforwildfire.org/
Ready:
• Creating defensible space around your home.
• Hardening your home by using fire resistant construction materials on the exterior walls, roofing, and rain gutters.
• Cleaning up leaf-litter and brush in and around the plants and shrubs next to your home.
Set:
• Create a Wildfire Action Plan with your family identifying escape routes, meeting locations, & what you will bring with you when you evacuate, etc.
Go:
• Stay informed by watching the news/listening to the radio.
• Evacuate and evacuate early once warning has come from fire/law enforcement officials.
There are a number of factors that contribute to our great risk of fire danger here in Orange County this summer from the ongoing drought, predicted hot temperatures, notorious Santa Ana Winds, and the Bark Beetle invasive species which has killed over 66 million trees in California since 2010. This number is up from 3.3 million trees in 2014 to 29 million trees in 2015. (http://calfire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/newsreleases/2016/2016_TreeMortality.pdf). The website above is an excellent resource for wildfire readiness and discusses what you can do to protect against, prepare for and mitigate this risk.
Because Orange County’s geography is so diverse, many of us do not live in an area that is necessarily prone to wildfire danger; however, the majority of us probably know somebody that does. So, take a moment to educate yourself on wildfire resilience at the website above so you can provide some safety tips to that friend or relative the next time you speak with them.
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