Would your home survive a wildfire?

1
Considering recent news from California, I thought this might be prudent.

All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

4
Yeah, the 100' of defensible space is very relevant when you are in a more rural setting- my dad still is a volunteer firefighter in Colorado, and despite being pretty good about it around our rural cabin, it still burned while random things on the property were skipped. Where I live now in suburbia, like Marlene and CDF, I'm at the mercy of my neighbors as every house that borders to me is less than 100' away.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

Image

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

5
Urban dweller here, too. Keeping vegetation off of your house and leaves out of your gutters is about all you can do when your neighbor's house is 10 to 20 feet away. My house is stucco exterior with tile roof, so, in theory, sort of fire resistant. But it has the same vented attic that seems to suck in embers as all the rest of the houses that have burned down recently.

We also have this cute little fire sprinkler system that is on the inside of the house (I believe it became code circa 2010 but was implemented earlier in some jurisdictions) that makes it impossible to get a very airtight house for insulation purposes. I guess it might help buy time to get out if there is an individual fire but in the event of many homes on fire, it would very likely depressurize the municipal delivery system and be useless. Now sprinklers on a non vented roof has some merit.

The reality is, if a fire gets started in an urban area and there is high wind, it will be very difficult to stop with current building styles.

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

6
Probably mine would survive. Only cut grass (lawn) and shrubs w/i 100 feet. A couple large, deciduous trees - Maples and a linden - with high canopies. We have a 3/4 acre pond adjacent to the barn and not far from the house so there’s an abundant water source. I worry more about the 150+ year old barn. Lots of fuel in its structure and stored hay. Were it to go, the stable and coop would be in danger.

Given the near record breaking rainfall here this year, the fire danger in the nearby forests is very low right now. Of course, this could change.
Image

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

7
Same situation as most. In suburbia. My only advantage there is that I'm way deep into the subdivision, so pretty safe as long as it burns the periphery. I do live with earshot of a trauma center and another hospital, so I would think the authorities would keep the fires away from emergency services.

I did see the fires were burning hot enough to melt Aluminum car rims and windshields, so unless you've got concrete/brick walls, you're still not safe enough.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

8
atxgunguy wrote: Mon Nov 26, 2018 12:16 pm Same situation as most. In suburbia. My only advantage there is that I'm way deep into the subdivision, so pretty safe as long as it burns the periphery. I do live with earshot of a trauma center and another hospital, so I would think the authorities would keep the fires away from emergency services.
Santa Rosa had to evacuate two hospitals during the Tubbs fire in 2017. One fire station was completely destroyed. Don't be too comfortable with the "authorities would keep the fires away from emergency services." We also lost emergency radio and cell communications as towers were eaten by the fire. Weather continues to defy our best efforts to control it.

Here's a very interesting map that shows how quickly the Tubbs fire grew. It was compounded by other concurrent fires to the north and southeast, not shown on the map that completely overwhelmed local and regional emergency response. I know the dispatch manager that was on duty that night. His stories are heart wrenching. Time and time again he had to tell citizens and emergency responders that no help was coming.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/multimedi ... ire-spread

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

9
There's a full range of proven fireproofing info available in Bill Mollison's "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual".

Cement, stucco, metal roofing, earthworks, and fireproof trees and bushes work. Our wood frame building style and intensive care system of utility connections are severely compromised from the start. That the best suggestion fire control and insurance folks have is to clear the ground 100' around the structure shows their ignorance. That we rely on them is sad.

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

10
featureless wrote:
atxgunguy wrote: Mon Nov 26, 2018 12:16 pm Same situation as most. In suburbia. My only advantage there is that I'm way deep into the subdivision, so pretty safe as long as it burns the periphery. I do live with earshot of a trauma center and another hospital, so I would think the authorities would keep the fires away from emergency services.
Santa Rosa had to evacuate two hospitals during the Tubbs fire in 2017. One fire station was completely destroyed. Don't be too comfortable with the "authorities would keep the fires away from emergency services." We also lost emergency radio and cell communications as towers were eaten by the fire. Weather continues to defy our best efforts to control it.

Here's a very interesting map that shows how quickly the Tubbs fire grew. It was compounded by other concurrent fires to the north and southeast, not shown on the map that completely overwhelmed local and regional emergency response. I know the dispatch manager that was on duty that night. His stories are heart wrenching. Time and time again he had to tell citizens and emergency responders that no help was coming.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/multimedi ... ire-spread
"Would think" is the key phrase. There are still burn scars in my neck of the woods from a fire that happened in 2011, the threat is very real to me. I'd be ready to evacuate if need be. I definitely wouldn't rely on the authorities making that judgment call.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

12
Live in a rural area. It's the desert, but we do have trees and sandy soil that grows about anything. I have a long narrow lot so I don't have 100' on either side with neighbors, thankfully no one has a lot of vegetation. Previous owner went tree crazy, I pulled out most two more to go. Stucco house with a composition roof, not a pink stucco house with a tile roof like a lot of So Cal. County fire and Cal Fire about a mile away and a hydrant directly across the street. A lot of federal lands around here and fire is a huge concern with them.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

14
Without successful intervention by wildland fightfighters, it's highly doubtful. The lower elevation forests of southern Oregon are not that different, risk-wise, than those around Redding or Paradise. We just got lucky this year, that's all. This summer, starting around 1 July, and running through October, was smokey, unhealthy mess. Last year was nearly as bad.
I love it here, but I'm about ready to put my house up for sale and move.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: Would your home survive a wildfire?

16
If I get a fire hose, there's a hydrant at the end of my driveway. Actually, we've been having so much rain a wildfire isn't the risk here--we've had flash-flood warnings as recently as 4 days ago, and, in years past some SERIOUS flooding! Luckily, we're on a hill--I always want a house to be on a hill.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests