Home Hardening Takes Place Year-Round, Not Just During Fire Season
Wildfires are getting worse every year. Not only are they becoming more prolific, but they are also becoming fiercer and more destructive, especially on the West coast. According to Cal Fire, the 2020 fire season was the worst on record, not just with acreage burned but in size as well.
We are in the height of fire season now in September 2021, and though we haven’t surpassed 2020 in fire destruction, we still have a ways to go until winter.
Cal Fire Chief Porter recently expressed his fear of the coming months in a press conference saying, “For September through December, the entire state shows dryer, more wind events and large fire activity to continue… which is sobering.”
So what does this mean for home and business owners who live in or near the line of fire? It means staying vigilant and fire-ready. It means being uber cautious when doing anything that might cause a spark from driving carefully, containing and putting out campfires, and refraining from activities like shooting, especially during high fire danger conditions.
It also means hardening your home and being prepared for fire season long before it starts.
Our phones are ringing off the hook come fire season. People scramble to try to protect their homes and businesses when they see wildfires raging on the news or smell smoke in the air. Unfortunately, looking for home hardening services in August is already too late to truly prepare for updates like retrofitting vents, installing gutter guards, setting up wildfire sprinklers, or spraying Phos-Chek Fortify fire retardant.
Like any business in contracting or home building, we have manufacturing lead times. We have to schedule the labor. Now with COVID precautions and closures disrupting the supply chain, we may need to wait even longer.
Ember Defense | Harden Your Home Long Before Fire Season!
We are all navigating this new world of living with fire. As home and business owners we now need to take fire protection into our own hands far ahead of fire season. We need to update our homes before the fire is at our doorstep. That means preparing for wildfire long before summer temperatures rise and vegetation gets dry. Home hardening is not something we do in August every year. Home hardening is year-round.
So how do we harden homes? By analyzing each layer of defense, we make homes and businesses safer and more prepared to stay standing in the event of fire. The layers we investigate include:
- Defensible Space: Make sure the space around your home is clear of debris, flammable materials, and that vegetation is not touching the home. We will make suggestions on how to clear defensible space.
- Vents: Are your vents fire-proof? We consider retrofitting Vulcan Vents on existing vents to close out embers when fire is near.
- Gutters: Valor Gutter Guards will help deter debris from piling up and creating a fire hazard.
- Fire Sprinklers: Depending on the application, we install exterior roof sprinklers or set up a sprinkler system that could be what the home needs for ultimate protection.
- Phos-Chek Fortify: Spraying fire retardant around the home or business renders vegetation, fence lines, and patio furniture non-flammable through fire season.
We are at the height of the 2021 fire season. With the Dixie Fire and the Caldor Fire making headlines all over the world, we know everyone is paying close attention to home hardening now, right now. Call us for a home evaluation but know that we may be preparing for the 2022 fire season already. But that’s ok; the more prepared our homes and businesses are means less destruction in the future. All we can do is hope that snow and rain come early this year!
Call us for an evaluation and we can see what we can do!