Preventing Home loss to Wildfire Personal home and site visits for Wildland Fire Education and Mitigation strategies are available up request at no charge. We will happily schedule to visit your site and assist you in planning your own fire prevention plan around your home.
Wildfires are a high risk in SJC and on Orcas Island. Our summers are warm and very dry, and there is lots of grass, shrubs and windfall to ignite.
Dry grass can be ignited by a mower blade hitting rock, a carelessly-tossed cigarette or match, camp fires or illegal burning. Once grass ignites, the flames can spread into fallen leaves and branches, shrubs (especially dry Scotch Broom), low-hanging branches and then up into the tree canopy.
Windblown embers, or overhanging branches can then spread the fire to buildings, especially those with shingle or shake roofs. If the fire is intensive enough it can even ignite buildings by radiant heat.
Help prevent widlfires! Read the introduction to our Property Wildfire Risk Assessment form first and then download the two-part evaluation guide:
Wildfire-Risk-Evaluation-Guide-Part-A (PDF 1.3 MB)
Wildfire-Risk-Evaluation-Guide-Part-B (PDF 1.0 MB)
Using the Risk Evaluation Guides, complete the ‘Property Wildfire Risk Assessment’ form and use it to rate the survivability of your home in the event of a fire.
Firewise Communities
Firewise Communities has a lot of useful information about dealing with fires on your property: http://www.firewise.org/
If you have any questions about reducing the risk of wildland fires on your property please contact Capt. Max Jones at 376-2331 x 26.
Fire Wise USA and YMCA Camp Orkila
Fire Wise USA and YMCA Camp Orkila joined together to create a new, outstanding program to teach young people ways they can to prevent wildfire from burning homes. Students are given basic information on what causes home fire ignitions in the wildland fire interface and what to do about it.
These 12 campers worked clearing brush from around buildings, doing fire experiments and learning basic firefighting technique to better understand prevention.
Learning how far 30 feet can be! Students laid out in a measured line to better understand the concept of 30 feet clearance around a structure.
Hands-on fire mitigation technique. Campers worked to clear debris from roof to reduce chance of ignition in the event of a wildfire.
A visit to the fire station. Rich Harvey and Max Jones show the difference in firefighting protective gear.
Direct Hit! Each Fire Camp team member got a chance to target shoot with different diameter hose.
