With soaring temperatures and dry landscapes heightening the risk of wildfires during the next several weeks, experts are stressing the importance of advance planning.
July and August are considered the prime months for wildfires. At least four have already blazed throughout various parts of Southern California during the past week, including the July 8 brushfire, believed to have been accidentally started by a weed control operation, that threatened the Getty Center, and the Angeles National Forest fire that has burned 288 acres as of Tuesday night.
“As we get later into summer, fire risks increase,” Ken Clark, expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, said Friday in a telephone interview.
“The worst fires typically occur during the beginning to middle part of fall, because that’s the time we get Santa Ana winds,” he explained. “We haven’t received any rain, and brush is going to be as dry as it can be.”
Not surprisingly, Clark ranked brush clearance and as the No. 1 safety measure in wildfire preparedness. But there exists a variety of precautionary measures that, if exercised, can save both lives and property.
People should take extra care when working outdoors with power equipment, camping or parking vehicles in dry, grassy fields, Clark said. Machinery develops sparks, which can easily ignite fires.
With development in Malibu predominantly residential, Craig George, manager of the City of Malibu’s Building Safety Division, on Friday said fire-resistant building is on the rise.
“It’s such an open field, there are a lot of [fire-resistant] products and materials people need to educate themselves about,” George said.
Some ways to protect homes from wildfires include installing dual-pane windows that contain an insulating air gap, making it more difficult for fire to enter the home; utilizing slate roofs instead of wood or composite ones; covering wood-deck surfaces with successive layers of fire-resistant polyurethane; and removing overhangs that trap heat and flames.
Another key way to fireproof one’s home is by ensuring that all its openings are properly sealed, George said. Extreme heat-with or without direct flame-easily enters houses through vents, poorly sealed doors and windows, and cracks in walls or attics, igniting everything inside.
Wildfire preparedness includes advanced evacuation planning.
“Always be able to locate insurance policies, mortgages, banking stuff, and important heirlooms, like pictures, that can’t be replaced,” Clark said. “Put all important papers-wills, banking information, house insurance policies-in one place.”
Scanning important papers onto the computer and making online photo albums will ensure their survival. A first aid kit with enough food, water and prescription medication to last three to four days is also essential.
“I wish I could give people a recipe to keep houses safe but Mother Nature is much stronger than we are,” Clark said. “If Mother Nature wants to reign her destruction on you, she will do it.”