Protect Your Home from Wildfire

The number of people moving into the rural and forested areas of Seabeck, Hintzville, Wildcat Lake, and Lake Symington is increasing. The area is peaceful and scenic, but the move from an urban center to a suburb or rural area requires you to rethink fire safety. Remember, fire safety is a personal responsibility.

If your home is in the rural-urban interface, the place where homes meet combustible vegetation, then you need to be prepared to protect your home in a wildfire emergency. The rural areas of Central Kitsap are called "Wildland/Urban Interface" areas. These areas require residents to be aware of unique fire hazards. Dry summer conditions bring potential danger from wildfire to those homes that are nestled in close proximity to the trees and brush or on hillsides.

One of the most effective ways to protect your property is to create a "Defensible Space" around your home. A defensible space is a vegetation buffer, such as a green lawn, that reduces the chance of a wildfire reaching your home. A defensible space around your home also provides a safer work area for firefighters in the event your home is threatened by a wildfire. An adequate defensible space is created by clearing away brush and trees at least thirty (30) feet on all sides of your home.

Some additional steps that you can take before the wildfire season is in full force are:

• Call Puget Sound Energy to have them remove tree branches in contact with power lines.
• Provide access for fire engines by trimming back fuels (trees, shrubs) alongside your driveway.
• Post your address numbers so CKFR firefighters are able to easily find you.
• Have two alternate escape routes, one by car and the other by foot.
• Pre-connect garden hoses with nozzles to all exterior water outlets.
• Clean debris from your roof and gutters.
• Install fire resistant roofing. Burning embers that fall from above are a leading cause of structure fires that start as a result of a wildfire.
• Trim low hanging branches on trees to prevent a fire on the surface from spreading upward.
• Provide for fire engine access to water supplies that might be available, such as fire hydrants, swimming pools, creeks, lakes and ponds.
• No matter where you live, always install smoke alarms on every level of your home. Test them monthly and change the batteries at least once a year. Consider installing the new long-life smoke alarms.

For further information and publications on how to prepare for a wildfire in your area, call us at 360.447.3550, stop by your local CKFR station for tips, or visit the CKFR website www.ckfr.org and look under wildfire safety or the USFA website: www.usfa.fema.gov

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