Tom McMackin/Gwen Berry
YEEOW!! Wildfire season, like the rodeo bull riding season, is nearly over. Whew!!
My observation that living within High Prairie’s natural environment is a lot like bull riding (it’s not IF you’ll get clobbered…it’s only a matter of WHEN and HOW BAD!) proved out with all the fires that happened around us this season. Wasco County’s big fires come immediately to mind – Substation (80,000 acres) / Box Car (99,000 acres) / South Valley (20,000 acres). Don’t forget, though, that those deadly fires happened right after what could easily have been a devastating wildfire right here on High Prairie, the Mott Road fire that burned into Amerys’ canola crop. A fast response from multiple fire agencies and an almost windless day kept it small. We were lucky. If the wind had been blowing normally . . .
As you start 2018’s Fall/Winter outside chores, it’s a good idea to start planning and do some ground work to be ready for 2019’s fire season using the Firewise Home Ignition Zone concepts.
These fall chores will also help prepare the 0’-5’ Home Ignition Zone, since a shower of embers or sparks is very much like a rain shower:
Start at the peak of your roof. Clear out areas that have squirreled away leaves, twigs and other light fluff, and make repairs to keep drips (or sparks) from penetrating to the inside.
Inspect and clean the stovepipe or chimney system for the coming heating season
Before the roof gets wet with rain or snow, check gutters for condition and function, and clean out anything that has settled there with the season’s change.
On the ground around your home: while you’re clearing up leaves, pine needles and old plantings to keep wet debris from coming inside, consider different plantings or other uses for the area that will create a fire-resistant buffer next to your house.
Make note of any repairs needed to keep leaks (or creeping fire) from contact with the house.
As the wood pile gets used over the winter and cleared from the side of the building, plan a new spot for the wood away from any building contact.
You’ll also have a chance to survey and make a punch list of things to accomplish later in the Firewise 5’ – 30’ Zone!
For more information or a Firewise consultation on your property, contact Tom McMackin at 509-365-2786 or by email at firewise.onhighprairie@gmail.com.
Watch for information on a Firewise get-together at the HPCC in late October to talk about planning for Firewise projects and discussions on basic disaster and evacuation preparedness.
Online resources:
Firewise – http://www.firewise.org or http://www.firewise.org/wildfire-preparedness/be-firewise/home-and-landscape.aspx
Ready, Set, Go! – http://www.wildlandfirersg.org or http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/Resident