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How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California

Californians have to prepare for wildfire season as the weather warms up and the calendar turns to summer. Regions and times vary, but typically wildfire season ranges from July to October in California.

Our guide will tell you how you can prepare for wildfire season in California, like coming up with an action plan, putting together an emergency kit, and hardening your home.

Emergency Kit

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California – how to prepare for fire season

Come Up With an Evacuation Plan

A wildfire can start quickly, causing mass confusion during evacuations. Instead of figuring out what to do on your feet, come up with a sensible action plan for the household in the event of a wildfire.

This plan should include evacuation routes to a designated meeting point outside the hazard area that everyone knows if you are separated. It should also designate roles and responsibilities for the household, like who will grab the emergency kit, shut off the gas and electricity for the home, and prepare the car.

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California 2

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California

Pro-Tip

Designate a relative or friend everyone in the household knows as a point of contact. If there are multiple groups, they can each contact that single person instead of everyone trying to call each other at once.

Put Together an Emergency Kit – How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California

With a wildfire heading towards your home, you don’t want to waste precious time packing items, so put together a comprehensive emergency kit of essentials you can grab at a moment’s notice.

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California

The emergency kit should include:

  • Face masks/coverings for smoke and ash
  • A first aid kit
  • Three days’ worth of non-perishable food and water
  • Any medication someone can’t go more than three days without
  • A map of the surrounding area with the evacuation route highlighted
  • A flashlight
  • Battery-powered radio and batteries

If you don’t have digital backups, you should also consider packing any essential documents you can’t lose.

Invest in Fire-Resistant Clothing

It’s not a bad idea to consider investing in fire-resistant clothing that will hold up in a forest fire. You can even find the same gear firefighters will use as protection against wildfire. You don’t need a complete set of firefighter gear, but a few shirts, hats, or boots wouldn’t hurt should you come across the fire.

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California 3

How You Can Prepare for Wildfire Season in California

Harden Your Home

In most cases, it’s not direct flames from nearby trees or houses that damage homes the most; it’s the embers from a wildfire that can travel for miles and ignite your home. But there are steps to “harden” your home, or make it more resistant to embers and fire.

The roof is usually the first part of the house damaged in a wildfire, so ensure it’s made of less-flammable materials like composite, metal, tile, or clay. Install double-pane windows with tempered glass and ensure that all vents on your house are covered with metal mesh to keep embers out.

Now you know how to prepare for wildfire season in California. Ensure you’ve got an emergency kit and a plan for the household. Take preventative measures by hardening your home against wildfires.

Read more – Are There Rolling Blackouts in California Coming in 2022?

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