You put the kids to bed and settle in to watch your favorite show. There is a paw at the door, and you let your dog out to the backyard. A whiff of smoke enters the house. Unbeknownst to you, your house is already on fire. Not a big fire, but embers from a fire over a mile away have traveled with the strong winds and flown into your attic through a roof vent. That ember is now smoldering in your attic. You don’t know. You go to bed.
It’s more than a scary story told around a fire station pole; it turns out this is the number one way a wildfire burns down a home. Thankfully, your smoke alarms went off, and you were able to evacuate your home safely before it was too late.
The science behind this:
We now know that 90% of homes impacted by wildfires burn down because of embers. Prior to a 1997 study of a controlled outdoor experiment led by U.S. Forest Service scientist Jack Cohen, the consensus was that the front of the fire moved through neighborhoods, and that is what caused homes to burn down. The results of the study (https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/sfd/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/Consider-the-ember_From-the-Field-3.6.26.pdf) changed how we think about protecting homes from wildfires.
The fact that embers can travel more than a mile is terrifying. When embers hit a home, there are three likely locations that cause the most alarm: vegetation touching your home, vents with enough space for embers to enter your home, or dried vegetation that has built up in your gutters. The good news is each of these can be mitigated.
Let’s take these one at a time:
- Vegetation touching your home. This is Zone 0, the zero to five feet from your home. Here is a short video of various ways you can help build a defensible space through your landscaping without making a ton of changes to your yard. The gist is to remove tall or flammable materials that are within five feet of your home.
- Vents and entry points to your home. The three main areas to protect are your chimney, roof or attic vents, and crawlspace vents. When a fire approaches, even from a distance, the air pressure changes, causing an effect where your vents begin sucking in air. With the air comes the embers. Applying mesh or updating your vents can dramatically help protect your home. Also, make sure you have a chimney cover that protects against embers entering through your fireplace.
- Gutter buildup is a problem. And I know, if you are like me, you just grumbled at the idea of cleaning your gutters more often. The two easiest solutions are to clean the gutters more often, or buy gutters with a cover that prevents leaves and other vegetation from building up.
One thing we haven’t covered is wooden decks or furniture. These are tricky because surrounding a deck or furniture with metal fire mesh is ridiculous. We recommend you check out products like Clore, a spray you can apply well before any fire. This non-toxic, pet-friendly spray helps organic material develop fire resistance. Check them out https://www.clorefr.com/
Next time you are out for a drive, take note of how far 1.5 miles is from your house. Now you can see how difficult it is to anticipate whether embers are flying toward your house when there is a fire nearby. Stay safe, stay alert, and have a fire plan.
