YOUTUBE yiUHjtLSZZ8 Spraying Phos-Chek is good home defense prep in wild fire season. Tips from Juan Browne
# Advice from Andy Louden a firefighter in Oregon I’m a firefighter in Oregon and do structure protection at Wildland fires much of the summer. Your assessment and advice is pretty darn good. I’d like to add a few points. Most importantly is to understand that most homes catch fire not due to radiant heat from the trees on fire but rather ember storms driven by the winds. The embers collect just as leaves or snow drift and ignite combustibles they collect up against, like the bottom edge of the plywood sheathing under a roof or siding and the surface of a wooden deck. Knowing that, there are a few steps that are very effective: 1) cleaning your roof and gutters of combustible materials. Plugging the down spouts (I like disposable diapers as the swell and make a tight seal) and filling the gutters with water.
2) Clear all combustibles three feet from around the house, including bark dust. You can leave ornamental plants generally as they have a high moisture content. Put all combustibles from your yard like furniture and toys in the garage or house. Move wood piles away from the house.
3) Staple aluminum foil in an L shape along the intersection of decks and base of walls where embers will collect. Make sure all attic and crawl space vents have a fine screens over them so embers can’t blow in. If the existing screen has holes larger than window screen, cover it with duct tape. 4) Make sure all windows are closed and the propane is off. Leave your lights on so firefighters can see the house in smoke or darkness.
5) If you have a well you can turn on sprinklers to increase the humidity around the home and wet combustible decks. Don’t do this if you are on a community water system as you could inadvertently help run the system dry.
Lastly, put a ladder to the roof and have a garden hose hooked up ready to go in the driveway for firefighters to use and fill their truck.