MARIPOSA – Walk around your house, imagine a wildfire heading to your house, are you prepared? Will your house survive? Do you have an evacuation plan for your family and your pets?
If the answer is no, please take the time to create a plan, share it with everyone that lives in your home. Remember – get ready, get set, and be prepared to go.
Do you have a house with a view? Do you live on a hill or a ridge top? If the answer is yes then you need more than 100 feet of defensible space. Do you have a raised patio or deck? Does it overhang dead or dry vegetation? Do you have patio furniture and or decorative coverings on your pump or propane tank?
If the answer is yes then you need additional clearance around your house.
When you are working to remove all dead and dying grass, brush and trees do so with extreme caution. Never use a lawn mower to clear dead or dry weeds or grass. Work on your clearance projects early in the morning when the temperatures are cooler and the humidity is higher. Stop all projects by 10:00 am.
The actions you take now could be the ones that stop a fire in its tracks. If you encourage your neighbors to take those same steps – disaster could be avoided.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Madera- Mariposa- Merced Unit (MMU) has rapidly moved into fire season. Each year CAL FIRE notifies the public of the dangers living in and around the State Responsibility Area (SRA). We provide numerous suggestions to keep your home and family fire safe, on our web sites, in news articles and interviews and with door to door clearance inspections.
2013 has provided historically low rainfall, higher than average temperatures and low humidity levels which are developing into a very active fire season. CAL FIRE MMU would like to remind everyone who lives, works, travels or visits our Unit that 96% of all fires are human caused. That means you can prevent fires.
Please take a few minutes to stop and think fire prevention; it could save your home and your life.
For additional information visit our website at www.fire.ca.gov and www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
