by Lin McNulty
Jack Cohen, Firewise Founder, shares his findings from decades of studying wildfires. Photo: Lin McNulty
“During extreme wildfires, residual home destruction need not happen,” says Jack Cohen who has spent 40 years studying and investigating extreme wildfires across the country and, indeed, around the world.
Cohen shared findings from his decades of wildfire study on Thursday evening, August 8, to a rapt audience at the Eastsound Fire Station. He was introduced by islander Judith Cook, who, along with Cohen, was a co-founder in the 1990s of the Firewise Communities Program, a project of the National Fire Protection Association. Cook, at the time, was the National Fire Prevention Officer at the U.S. Forest Service.
Cohen’s findings are surprising and do not necessarily coincide with our commonly-held assumptions on how wildland fires spread to residential areas. A test wall placed within 66 feet of a raging wildland fire will not burn, yet homes much further away from the fire will, and do, ignite. Photos taken after such fires reveal houses burned to the ground, while trees next to the homes are still green and untouched, or every house on a block has burned to the ground—with one or two exceptions.
While the owner of an untouched home might consider it a miracle, it’s actually an explainable fact of science, which is what Cohen studies at the U.S. Forest Service Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana.
Understanding extreme wildfire behavior and how homes ignite during a wildland-urban interface gives homeowners control of the outcome.
So just how do homes ignite? It’s not the approaching firestorm scenario. Homes ignite because of firebrands, those burning embers that are carried by the wind into residential areas. Once those firebrands reach a home, sometimes hours after the original fire has been extinguished, there needs to be something on the house or nearby that is ignitable. That’s where homeowner control comes into play.
- Clear leaves and other debris from gutters, eaves, porches and decks. This prevents embers from igniting your home.
- Remove dead vegetation from under your deck and within 10 feet of the house.
- Remove anything stored underneath decks or porches.
- Screen or box-in areas below patios and decks with wire mesh to prevent debris and combustible materials from accumulating.
- Remove flammable materials (firewood stacks, propane tanks, dry vegetation) within 30 feet of your home’s foundation and outbuildings, including garages and sheds. If it can catch fire, don’t let it touch your house, deck or porch.
- Wildfire can spread to tree tops. If you have trees on your property, prune so the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet from the ground.
- Keep your lawn hydrated and maintained. If it is brown, cut it down to reduce fire intensity. Dry grass and shrubs are fuel for wildfire.
- Don’t let debris and lawn cuttings linger. Dispose of these items quickly to reduce fuel for fire.
- Inspect shingles or roof tiles. Replace or repair those that are loose or missing to prevent ember penetration.
- Cover exterior attic vents with metal wire mesh no larger than 1/8 inch to prevent sparks from entering the home.
- Enclose under-eave and soffit vents or screen with metal mesh to prevent ember entry.
Other measures such as not using wooden roof shingles or vinyl siding will reduce the chance of ignition, as will stone or gravel paths rather than flammable mulch.
Two local communities are presently Firewise communities—Orcas Highlands and Westview Woods. Folks in these areas cooperate to ensure they work together so they don’t burn together. There are currentlly 900 Firewise communities around the country.
For much more additional information and valuable resources on how you can protect your home, visit the Firewise website.
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