4 minute read
READY! SET! GO!
As temperatures begin to rise, the Los Angeles County Fire Department has encouraged residents to prepare their homes and property for wildfires by downloading the Ready! Set! Go! Wildfire Action Plan. In the customizable plan, residents will get detailed information and helpful tips on how to safeguard their homes and prepare their families, in case they need to evacuate.
Recently, the Department held a news conference at a Malibu home to showcase all the steps that homeowner Bruce and Janette Carpenter took to protect their home from wildfires. With more homes being built in wildland urban interface, there is a greater need to inform residents of the risks with living in areas that are vulnerable to wildfires Malibu is one of many wildland urban interface areas in Los Angeles County that are subject to significant fire risk.
Advertisement
“Climate change has made fire season yearround and increased our ever-growing number of wildfires,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby. “Firefighters and residents alike are now constantly on heightened alert for the threat of wildfires. The Los Angeles County Fire Department, along with our partnering agencies, stand ready to quickly respond to contain wildfires, utilizing our firefighting resources from the air and ground to help protect citizens and their property.”
But Chief Osby added this can’t be done effectively without the help of homeowners.
“Preparation and prevention go hand-inhand,” he said. “Ready! Set! Go! was designed to provide homeowners with critical information on creating defensible space around their home, retrofitting their home with fire-resistant materials, and preparing to safely evacuate well ahead of a wildfire… The Carpenter family of Malibu is an outstanding example of how a family can best prepare their home to minimize risk in a wildfire.”
The Carpenters experienced a tragic loss when their Malibu home burned to the ground in 1993. They built a new home just one lot away from where their original home was turned to ashes. “We eventually built a much safer house, designed more for fire,” said Mr. Carpenter. “It’s a continual process of eliminating the brush and making it safer. We don’t ever want our house to burn down again. But, I think we came out of it better. We work closely with Malibu and other cities to help residents with fire safety. The collaboration with the City of Malibu has always been excellent and they have strongly supported the Ready! Set! Go! Wildfire Action Plan.”
In other areas of Los Angeles County, you can find out more about how to successfully prepare your home in the wildland urban interface by downloading a free copy of the Ready! Set! Go! guide at fire.lacounty.gov/rsg. For hard copies, contact the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Public Information Office at (323) 881-2411.
If you need additional information about preparing for a wildfire or any other natural disaster, contact your nearest fire station or visit the Department’s website at fire.lacounty.gov. “We will help you discover ways to harden your home against fire, to give you the best chance of survival in a personal protective way for yourself and your family, and also for the structure, based on a possible evacuation need,” said Acting Assistant Fire Chief Drew Smith. “We have a significant amount of fire history in the Santa Monica Mountains. The lush and robust vegetation we have here is fuel that is most likely to promote large fires as we get into the fall months. The issue is compounded because homes become part of the fire problem because of the energy release that comes out of structures that enhances the fire environment and makes it very hard to combat.” “Fire Department experts surveyed our home and made a number of great suggestions to help us create more defensible space around our home and to lower the height of vegetation that remained to increase fire safety,” Mr. Carpenter said. “It took us awhile, but now we have confidence that our home is as fire-safe as possible. “ “My wife and I love the way it looks, and now we also have an excellent evacuation plan, thanks to the program. We think everyone who lives in an area subject to fires should check out the Ready! Set! Go! program, which has made such a positive difference
“The Ready! Set! Go! Wildfire Action Plan is designed to increase awareness not only for the homeowners, but also for all the firefighters involved in combating wildland fires in Southern California and up and down the state,” said Acting Assistant Fire Chief Smith. “We know that the significance and threat of wildfire is real, and that we go out there to protect life, protect property, and protect the environment. What we’d like to have happen is that the homeowners work with us together in contributing to us having the best chance to protect their homes and save lives.
