What’s Your Home’s Threat Level?
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During my time residing in Northern California, the paramount danger we constantly faced was devastating forest fires, closely followed by the potential risks associated with earthquakes or flooding. We gained valuable knowledge about property preparedness for disasters from the father of the girl our son was dating, who happened to be a wild-land firefighter.
We pondered the necessary precautions to ensure the security of our home. With an expansive 30-acre pasture, the risk of brush fires spreading rapidly was a genuine concern. Moreover, our proximity to the water canals, supported by levees, made the looming threat of flooding ever-present.
We have gathered some valuable tips to help you ensure the safety of your property, whether it is heavily wooded or located on a prairie:
- Ensuring defensible space is absolutely crucial, especially when it comes to fire safety. It is imperative to maintain a cleared area of at least 30-50 feet surrounding your home, alongside lush green vegetation
- Ample access is important for large rescue vehicles
- An ample water supply
- Metal roofing
- Cleared gutters and porches of natural debris
- Defensible space
- A quad trail that goes around the whole property provides a good barrier.
Defensible Space
Thanks to the stringent building codes in California, we were required to maintain a minimum distance of 30 feet from any vegetation, ensuring that our house and barn were free from any potential hazards.
Ample Access
Our location was ideal, positioned near the road with a convenient circular driveway, allowing easy access to all areas of the property. Not only would this have provided quick entry to the house and barn, but it also would have required minimal landscaping efforts. Although our pastures were fenced and cross-fenced, this could have posed a small challenge in case of a brush fire, as emergency crews may have had difficulty accessing them from the driveway.
We discovered that the water spout located near the barn not only had the best water pressure but was also quite a distance away from the house. This prompted us to explore different options in order to bring a water source closer to our home.
Metal Roofing
When we purchased the house, we unfortunately couldn’t afford to replace the roof. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the house didn’t have shake shingles which are notorious for their high susceptibility to fire, in compliance with the California building codes.
Clear Gutters & Porches
While we didn’t receive any snowfall, we did have gutters that played a crucial role in the event of sudden downpours during the rainy season in California. Unlike regions with snowy climates, Northern California experiences abundant rainfall during the late winter. Hence, it became essential to ensure that our gutters remained clean and clear of any debris.
Our plan in the event of needing to evacuate was simple: flee! However, it was not as easy as it seemed. We had a variety of animals on the farm, including 30 cattle, 2 horses, chickens, and 3 cats.
We were advised to release the cow and cats, as they were capable of taking care of themselves and might eventually return. However, our horses were like family to us, so we needed to find a way to transport them to safety, even though we didn’t have a trailer.
We were fully prepared with bug-out bags already arranged and a predetermined meeting spot in case our cell phones failed. However, the one thing we still needed was radios.
After completing our evaluation, it became evident that we were completely unprepared for a catastrophic fire or any other kind of disaster. We quickly became aware of the immense amount of work that lay ahead of us.
It’s ironic that we sold that property just six months before a devastating storm hit the area, causing the levees near our house to break and our place to be severely flooded. The Lord was truly watching over us then, as He always does.
Conducting a comprehensive evaluation of your property is a wise move to determine your level of vulnerability and identify areas that require improvement.
What’s your threat level?
