Protecting Your Home & Family From Wildfire
I'm Bob Larson. Well, summer is here and that means wildfire season in Washington state. It seems every year, we hear the heart-wrenching stories of people losing their homes and belongings to wildfire.Mutual of Enumclaw farm territory manager, Marcus Williams says there are ways to give some protection to your home and family ...
MARCUS WILLIAMS ... "Think of your home and your property in three different zones, zones One-Two-Three, ranging from different feet away. So, think of zone one as your last line of defense. So, that's mowing your lawn, keeping it hydrated, making sure there's no unnecessary debris around your yard, or there's no wooden attachments to your home from some other structure."
Williams says every zone involves fuel reduction of one kind or the other ...
MARCUS WILLIAMS ... "Zone two, on the other hand, is going to be somewhat more of the fuel reduction. So, when we think about fuel to the fire, that's the vegetation, any sort of unnecessary growth that can be hedged back. And, if we can divide a line between the vegetation and your home, such as a concrete driveway or a walking path, that can also do a lot to mitigate fire getting to your home. And then the third zone is going to be the property management. And so, when we're talking about agricultural, these rural locations, there's a lot of property to manage and that requires hedging back as many trees as you can, creating a very defensible space around your home and to protect your home from the ever-coming wildfire threat."
Williams says wind is the X-factor in every fire, so keep an eye on the strength and direction of the wind ... and keep your rain gutters clean.