Could smoke and embers from a wildfire put your home in danger? Here’s how to stay safe.
Climate change has created warmer, drier weather conditions in the United States, leading to an increasing number of wildfires. Wildfires are unplanned fires that start in natural areas, but as they spread, they can put human communities at risk.
When a wildfire burns, embers—pieces of burning material—can be carried several miles by the wind and ignite additional fires. Wildfire smoke can travel much farther, affecting the air quality hundreds of miles away.
To help people understand how to protect their family, home, and property from wildfire smoke and embers, James Gray, a Chloeta rep shared insights on how to prepare for a wildfire emergency. Chloeta, a Safeco Insurance partner, is an industry leader in risk mitigation and asset protection. Learn what steps to take indoors and out to keep your home as safe as possible.
6 Steps to take indoors
Wildfires can spread fast, especially during high winds, so don’t wait until there’s a fire in your area to take action. Prepare your home ahead of time so that you can stay safe indoors—or evacuate if it becomes necessary.
“A lot of times, people don’t realize that during these vegetation or wildland fires, it’s not just the grass and the leaves and the trees burning,” Gray says. When a wildfire spreads to trash piles, outbuildings, and other manmade materials such as plastic outdoor furniture, the smoke becomes more hazardous to breathe. Wondering how safe the air is near you? You can monitor the air quality anytime using the AirNow website.
To keep the air inside your home clean and minimize the health effects of smoke exposure, take the following steps.
1. Close windows and doors to limit airflow. This includes the garage door and the dog door if you have one. If there’s a gap beneath your front door, put a blanket or towel against it. “It’s really similar to preparing your house for winter,” says Gray, who also advises sealing any cracks in your home. “If you can feel a breeze coming through your house, that’s going to be a way that the smoke’s going to enter.”
2. Adjust the settings on your HVAC system. If your HVAC system or air conditioner has a “fresh air” option that pulls air from outside, turn off intake blowers and remove, close the air intake. Set the system to use recirculated air instead.
3. Check your air filters. If you haven’t changed the air filter in your HVAC system recently, do it now. Use a high-efficiency filter if it will work with your system. If your home is exposed to heavy smoke, plan to replace the filter more often. Stock up on filters in advance if possible, because dirty filters are much less effective.
4. Create a clean room. This is a room where you’ve taken steps to keep the air as clean as possible. Clean rooms are especially important for people who may experience additional health risks from wildfire smoke, such as children and older adults. Gray Recommends setting up your bedroom as a clean room since you spend the most time there. Choose a room without a fireplace that has few windows and doors.
If you have a portable air cleaner, such as a home air purifier, set it up in the clean room. If you don’t have one, you can make a temporary DIY air cleaner using a box fan and air filters. This will filter particles from the air and improve your indoor air quality. Keep the door to your clean room closed, even when you’re not inside.
5. Don’t add to the indoor air pollution. Avoid activities that can put more particles in the air, such as smoking, burning candles, frying food, spraying aerosols, or using gas, propane, or wood-burning stoves.
6. Clean the surfaces inside your home. Researchers at Colorado State University found that wildfire smoke attaches to carpet, counters, and other surfaces inside of homes, extending the exposure to toxic fumes. “Keeping your home clean—the basics of dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down surfaces—is probably some of the best ways to minimize those toxins in the smoke,” Gray says.
8 Steps to take outdoors
Wildfire embers that travel on the wind can land on your home, landscaping, and other flammable materials such as fences and sheds. Gray points out, “You don’t have to be in the line of the fire for that ember to cause damage to your home.”
Even if you live several miles from the fire, the wind could carry an ember onto your property, and embers sometimes smolder for hours before igniting the surrounding materials. Take the following steps to limit the risk to your home and property.
1. Create a fire-resistant zone around your home. If any tree branches hang over your home, porch, or within ten feet of your chimney, trim them back. If you have a picnic table, wood pile, or fuel tank, be sure they are at least 30 feet from any structures or fences.
2. Remove any debris. Clean away any dry, flammable materials, such as leaf litter and pine needles from your deck, roof, and gutters.
3. Move patio furniture and other flammable décor indoors. To prevent your patio furniture, cushion, door mat, or potted plants from fueling a fire, move them inside your home or garage or as far from your home as possible.
4. Check beneath your porch or deck. Never store flammable materials under your deck or porch. If you have anything there now, move it more than 30 feet from your home.
5. Check your vents. Cover any openings to your home with metal mesh (1/8 mesh size) to prevent an ember from getting inside.
6. Check your roof. If you find any loose or missing shingles, replace or repair them. Don’t let leaf litter accumulate on ridges and roof valleys.
7. Trim your yard vegetation. Mow your lawn to a height of four inches, and trim back any plants beneath trees so that if they burn, they don’t ignite the tree’s branches.
8. Prepare a hose. Connect a hose that’s long enough to reach any area of your property to an outdoor water source.
The more you know about wildfire risks, the more you’ll be able to prepare ahead of time to prevent smoke and embers from damaging your home. Make it a part of your routine to monitor your home and yard and mitigate any potential fire hazards—and talk to your neighbors about wildfire risks to help protect our local community.
