{"id":2012961,"date":"2023-08-26T11:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T15:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/when-wildfire-comes-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze\/"},"modified":"2023-08-26T11:46:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T15:46:46","slug":"when-wildfire-comes-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/when-wildfire-comes-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for Wildfires: Before, During, and After the Blaze"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhen-wildfire-comes-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2012961&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0825\/dcdfa432-2065-44b1-87d1-0518507c75d9\/audio.mp3?length=5444109&#038;duration=454\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Wildfires have raged across North America in 2023, \u200dbringing\u2064 devastating loss of\u2062 life, property, and air quality.<\/p>\n<p>From Canada\u2019s smoke-filled skies over the Northeast \u2064this\u200c summer to the inferno\u200b in Lahaina, Hawaii, that claimed over 100\u2063 lives, major fire disasters have\u2062 struck swiftly and \u2063with little warning.<\/p>\n<p>This means you may need to be \u2063your own first responder.<\/p>\n<h2>Lahaina: No Warning\u200b and\u200b No Way Out<\/h2>\n<p>West Maui\u2019s \u2062only escape route \u200bwas filled with fleeing\u200c vehicles that met a barricade blocking Highway \u206430, the \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/hawaii-fires-timeline-maui-lahaina-road-block-c8522222f6de587bd14b2da0020c40e9\">Associated Press \u2062reported<\/a>. Though intended to mitigate risks like \u2062downed power lines, the road closure trapped \u2062residents as flames \u2062engulfed Lahaina in one \u2064of history\u2019s deadliest wildfires. An unconfirmed FBI list shows\u2063 over 1,000 missing, many\u2062 children.<\/p>\n<p>Some died \u200din cars, others while fleeing\u2063 on foot. Survivors escaped \u2062by\u200b breaking rules, swerving \u2062around barricades, or taking backroads. \u2063One climbed\u2062 a dirt road \u2064to safety.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nifc.gov\/fire-information\/nfn\">National Interagency Fire Center<\/a> (NIFC) currently reports 78 large fires burning over 600,000 acres in \u200c14 states.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5480817\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/08\/25\/id5480817-Wildfire-Risk-Map-Courtesy-of-FEMA.png\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><\/p>\n<p>    \u200d (Wildfire Risk\u2063 Map, Courtesy of FEMA)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis is, unfortunately, something we\u2019re seeing more and more of is \u200cwhen wildfires occur that impacts populated areas, we have \u200bless and less \u200bwarning \u200ctime a lot\u200c of the time,\u201d Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director at the National\u2062 Fire Protection Association \u2064(NFPA), told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<h2>Wildfire Prep Begins With Red \u200bFlag Alerts<\/h2>\n<p>Paying attention to the National Weather Service\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/mqt\/redflagtips#:~:text=A%20Red%20Flag%20Warning%20means,3%2F4%20of%20an%20inch.\">red flag warnings<\/a> signaling high fire risk conditions is crucial, Ms. Steinberg said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Maui residents] \u2064had multiple days of \u200da red flag warning, meaning if there is an ignition and a \u2063fire begins, it is\u2062 likely to spread rapidly and perhaps have\u2062 serious impacts,\u201d she added. \u201cSo\u2064 that\u2019s intended\u200d to have people on their guard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These warnings advise\u2063 precautions like avoiding sparks and prompt authorities to \u200cban open flames.<\/p>\n<p>But people often ignore such\u200b warnings, as \u200doccurred\u2064 before recent disasters like the Tubbs Fire \u2063in California\u200d and \u2064Gatlinburg fires in Tennessee, Ms. Steinberg said.<\/p>\n<p>When going \u200bto heavily visited \u200dareas, remember that a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wildfire-season-here-is-what-you-need-to-be-prepared\/\" title=\"Prepare for Wildfire Season\">red flag warning requires heightened awareness<\/a>, she added. Know\u200d your evacuation route in case of emergency, including \u200cwhere you will go\u200d and how you \u2064will get there.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Prepare for an\u200c Emergency<\/h2>\n<p>Over 70,000\u200c communities and 44 \u2064million homes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/managing-land\/fire\/fac\">face wildfire risks<\/a> where vegetation meets\u200c urban areas,\u2062 called the wildland-urban interface. The U.S.\u200d Forest Service reports \u200bwildfires destroyed over 35,000 structures\u200c over the past\u200d decade.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to \u2062paying attention to red flag warnings, people must be\u200b ready to evacuate \u200dtheir \u200chomes for an extended\u200b period.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019d want to have a go-kit, an emergency kit,\u201d Ms. Steinberg said. \u201cSome emergency managers will talk about\u200b the three P\u2019s: pills, pets,\u2063 and pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Practice evacuation \u200cdrills, \u2062like packing up\u200c in\u200b 10 minutes. Such preparedness steps can save lives if\u2062 wildfire strikes\u2064 your neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the sort of personal safety\u200d preparedness that [the NFPA] talk about,\u201d Ms. Steinberg added.<\/p>\n<h2>Protect Your Home \u200cAgainst Flames<\/h2>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\">Wildfire preparedness also involves \u200bprotecting homes near \u2063wooded areas where fire naturally occurs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap\">If fire is part of \u2064your\u200b area\u2019s ecosystem, take steps to make your home ignition-resistant, \u200bMs. Steinberg recommended.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Routinely Remove Flammable Debris From Gutters<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cAnything that could \u200dcatch\u200c fire, you \u2062don\u2019t want\u2064 touching the house,\u201d Ms. Steinberg said. This includes organic mulch \u2063landscaping, which poses a fire \u2062risk.<\/p>\n<p>She recommends raking mulch and debris at \u200dleast 5 feet from \u200cthe house. This prevents direct flame contact and stops wind-blown embers from igniting fuels at the foundation. Thousands of \u2064embers can spread\u2063 from the main fire, so limiting available fuel \u200dis \u2064crucial.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. \u2064Do Not Wet Down Your Home<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Firefighters don\u2019t want untrained\u200c people \u2063staying behind, Ms. Steinberg said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing exposed to this kind of \u2064heat, flames, and \u200cgases is a bad\u2064 situation,\u201d \u2062she added. \u201cThis \u200dis how people \u2062get killed in wildfires.\u201d Attempting to wet down your home as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wildfire-season-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze\/\" title=\"Preparing for Wildfires: Tips Before, During, and After the Blaze\">fire nears wastes precious escape time<\/a> without much benefit. In\u200c fact, it\u2019s taking away the time you need to get out of harm\u2019s \u200cway.<\/p>\n<p>As Hawaii\u2019s winds showed, hoses \u2064can\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/when-wildfire-comes-how-to-prepare-before-during-and-after-the-blaze\/\" title=\"Preparing for Wildfires: Before, During, and After the Blaze\">withstand firestorm conditions long<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s gonna dry out that little \u2063d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>own first responder in the event of a wildfire. Stay informed, have an emergency plan, and be prepared to evacuate if necessary. The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires require us to take proactive measures to protect ourselves and our communities. Don&#8217;t wait for help, be ready to act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1807,"featured_media":2012962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2012961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1807"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2012961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2012961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2012961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2012961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}