Experts Tout Wildfire Precautions

May 27, 2001 — -- Don't risk getting burned again this year.

With summer wildfires in some parts of the West threatening to be even worse than last year, experts say it's time for the region's residents and visitors to make sure they do what they can to stay safe.

"The fire department, if you think about it, is staffed up for one or two structural fires," not vast wildfires, says Pat Durland, a fire management specialist for the federal Bureau of Land Management.

"There's just not going to be a fire engine at every house," he says. "The difference of whether a home survives a wild land fire is what the home is made of and how the vegetation around the home is managed."

Some Unaware

Experts say that although people realize the dangers posed by wildfires and other natural forces, they often don't do all that is necessary to keep themselves and their possessions safe.

A recent survey by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact found that 86 percent of homeowners thought their communities were at risk from forces such as tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires, but 52 percent did not know there were things they could do to protect their homes.

There are things you can do, experts say.

In the case of wildfires, experts recommend that people who live in fire-prone areas build their homes from fireproof materials — such as fire-retardant siding and clay roofing tiles — create an escape plan in the event of a fire, and clear dense brush and trees within 100 feet or so of their house.

"You can still have trees around homes, but you can't have vegetation that takes a fire from tree to tree to your house, or from vegetation to your house," Durland says. "Fire is always going to be in the wild land. It's not a matter of preventing it. It's a matter of protecting ourselves and living compatibly."

Keep Current

He says residents should keep themselves up to date, through local media and emergency management officials, on the current wildfire risk, so that routine activities involving fire can be curbed when necessary.

"Maybe last month the wind wasn't blowing as hard and the fuel wasn't as dry, or maybe even last week," he says.

But the onus doesn't lie strictly on the locals. Vacationers also must take care.

"You need to know what the conditions are and if there's restrictions on use of campfires, smoking, those types of issues, so you don't accidentally start a fire," Durland says.

Some Are Stubborn

Unfortunately, he finds, some people have a hard time seeing natural dangers in the wilderness. They seem to believe what is natural is good, that it will take care of them in the event of a fire, and that they build their homes of natural — but combustible — materials.

He recalled an example from last year of such a woman, whose home got burned in wildfires near Los Alamos, N.M.

"She said, 'I would rather have my house burn down than to cut these beautiful trees,'" he said. "Well, she got her wish. I wonder how she feels about it now."